Love Lies Bleeding
by KellieLynn1822
Summary: Renee is killed in front of Bella in revenge for Charlie arresting two murderers. Bella is left broken, but the nightmare isn't over. Something new haunts her night...
1. Chapter 1

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and the characters, I'm just putting them through different shenanigins. The shenanigans are mine.**

I'm screaming and screaming but no sound is being emitted. I can not feel anything, but I can see. I wish I couldn't even do that.

A cloaked man stands at the edge of my bed. His ghostly pale hands are gripped around the metal frame of my footboard and his face is locked on mine. I'm frozen. I can not see his eyes, only his face from his nose down, his mouth is red and what can only be blood drips out the corner of his slightly parted lips. His tongue darts out and he catches some of the blood before it can fall on my bed.

He smiles.

Stark white teeth stand out in contrast to the red that covers his mouth. To say that I am terrified would be an understatement; I had a pretty good idea that whatever this man was, if it was even a man, was not going to leave me alive. There is nothing I can do to save myself, my body is paralyzed, and every sense but sight has been taken away from me. Before I could register that he moved; the man was sitting next to me on my bed. There is no way that this thing is human, humans can not move at a lightening bolt's speed like this thing just did.

I can do nothing but stare up at this being with wide eyes as it slowly lifts the hood that had been covering its eyes. It keeps the head resting on its forehead, and moves its eyes to gaze into mine. Its eyes are the most terrifying part. The iris' were rimmed in black and became just as red as the blood dripping from its mouth as the color moved to the black pupil. It continued to stare down at me, and I wish that it would just do whatever it came here to do; the terror and waiting are driving me crazy. Maybe it could read my thoughts because as soon as I wished for the end to come, it reached out and pushed my head to the side exposing my neck. It studied my neck for a few seconds before it placed its hand on my jaw and moved my face back so that I was staring at it once again. It looked extremely confused, its eyebrows furrowing.

It leaned forward, giving only about an inch between our faces, its eyes still boring into mine. It moved its nose down to my mouth and forced it open with its hands. It closed its eyes and inhaled. Why he smelled my mouth was beyond me, it only increased my terror. It took my wrist in its hand and flipped it over. It placed a fingernail over the veins there and pressed. I began my noiseless screaming once more as I saw the blood rise out of my wrist. It glanced up at me and I could almost see worry in its eyes. It brought my wrist up to its mouth and flicked its tongue over the blood that had pooled there. It looked at me then stood up quickly.

In that moment everything came back. I could move, smell, hear, and most importantly scream. I let the loudest scream out that I could possibly conjure up. It jumped at the sound of my scream and flew out of window that I had not noticed was opened until then. It stood on my outside window sill let out a guttural, menacing growl then slammed the window shut. I clinched my eyes shut and was still screaming when my father burst through my door.

"Isabella!" I heard him yell, "Wake up!" All I could do was scream. My wrist felt like it was on fire. Could he not see the blood pouring out of it? "You're having a nightmare, stop screaming! Wake up, and open your eyes."

A nightmare? What just happened to me seemed far too real to be a nightmare, plus I still had the fire burning in my wrist. There had to be blood everywhere. I opened my eyes and saw my father's worried face above mine.

"Dad! The blood, it's my blood! I'm losing it!" I screamed.

"Bells, what're you talking about? There's no blood anywhere," he said apprehensively.

I looked down at my wrist and could clearly see the wound that the thing had left; blood was still seeping out of it. I shoved my wrist up to where he could see it, "How are you not seeing this?"

"Isabella, there is nothing there except your skin and it looks perfectly fine," he stated sadly, "You were just having a nightmare, you've been through a lot these past couple of weeks. It's bound to show up in your dreams."

"Dad, this was no nightmare. There was something in my room, it looked like a man, but there was no way that's what it was. It was super fast, had blood dripping out of its mouth, and had red and black eyes. It blocked off all of my senses except for sight and paralyzed me. It cut my wrist open with its fingernail and tasted my blood. It's still cut and there is still blood coming out of it, I can see it Dad, why can't you?" I was crying now.

He wrapped his arms around me, and held me tightly, "Bella, you have to believe me, there is no blood and your wrist is just fine. Why don't we go downstairs and you can make some tea or something."

"Let me just go to the bathroom real quick then I'll be down there," I said. He nodded and walked me to the bathroom down the hall from my room. I shut the door and turned on the water to wash my wrist off. Thankfully it had stopped bleeding, but there was still a nasty gash. I was scared to say the least. What was that thing? I knew it wasn't a nightmare; I had the proof for myself. Why couldn't my father see the hideous cut on my wrist and the blood soaking the sheets of my bed? I let the water wash over my wrist and I opened the mirror cabinet to find some Neosporin and band-aids. I shut the cabinet and looked up in the mirror.

It was standing behind me.

Before I could scream it placed a hand over my mouth. "Not another word," it hissed. It grabbed my wrist and placed the pad of its thumb over the cut, making the gash disappear. Tears filled my eyes; I shut them and waited for more pain to come. Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes and once again I was alone in my bathroom. I broke down and sank to the floor. I heard my father call out my name but I couldn't respond. When he opened the door to the bathroom and he immediately came over to me. "Bella, what're you doing on the floor?"

"The thing, it came back. It fixed my wrist," I said as I showed it to him.

"There was never anything wrong with your wrist, Bella. Now I know you've been having a hard time, but you aren't the only one. This was just a nightmare. You need to shake this off, come on downstairs. I made the tea."

He helped me up and led me down the hall. I glanced into my room and saw that any trace of blood had been removed from my bedding. Could this have really only been a nightmare?

I made it downstairs to the kitchen table where my tea was waiting for me. I plopped down in my chair, exhausted. I glanced up at the clock and it read six o'clock, I had to be at school in an hour.

This was not going to be a good day.

But then again, I'd given up on having good days three weeks ago; February 16, 2009, to be exact; the day my mother was murdered right in front of me.

"Hey Momma!" I said as I walked in the front door. I dropped my book bag at the foot of the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Bellie! How was school?" I hated that nickname.

"Eh, it was school," I answered.

"Any new guys caught your eye?" she said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes and hopped up on the counter next to her, she was always asking me about the guys at my school and why I never dated any of them. The truth is none of them were my type; they all seemed the same, "Whatcha making?" I asked to change the subject.

"Well, since your father is out of town, I figured I'd make us our favorite food."

"Grilled chicken and strawberry salad?"

"Yep, yep, Bellie. If you want you can get out the strawberries and grapes out and slice them up."

"Sure thing, Momma."

We set all of our fixings for our salad out on the kitchen table and sat down to eat.

"So where'd Dad have to go this time?"

"Just into Seattle for the weekend, a couple of suspects wanted for murder in Seattle were found near La Push, and your father had to go in to give his story and do paperwork, just police stuff."

"Oh ok. Wow, murderers in La Push. That's kind of freaky," I said.

"Yeah, everyone's been on their toes even though they caught the guys. It's gotten everyone on alert."

"I bet," I stated. I was worried, half the reason we moved to Forks was because of the terrible crime in Phoenix. My mother was always worried sick that Dad wouldn't come home one night if we stayed there. Forks, being the small town that it is, seemed safe, and we were lucky that the police force here was looking to hire someone. She couldn't handle the risk of losing him, it would destroy her. My mother and father were like air to each other. They needed one another to survive. I had always admired their love and wanted to find someone out there who would care about me the way that they did for each other.

Mom seemed to sense my worries, and she reached over to place her hand on my shoulder, "But, your father has taken care of the bad guys, like always. No need to worry."

I looked up at her and nodded. "How about we go watch Kevin Bacon shake his cute little butt?"

"Did you really just say that?" I laughed.

"Uh yeah. Bellie, I love your father to death, and he can dance well, but he just can't move it like Kevin can," she stated. She stood up from the table and started dancing and singing into the living room. I laughed and followed after her. She grabbed my hands and started swinging us around the living room to the beat of her singing.

**Loose, footloose **

**Kick off your Sunday shoes**

** Please, Louise**

** Pull me offa my knees**

** Jack, get back**

** C'mon before we crack**

** Lose your blues**

** Everybody cut footloose!**

We were both laughing as she let go of me and dropped herself on the couch.

"Whew, that was fun. Bellie put the movie in would ya?"

I caught my breath and popped the movie into the DVD player. I took my spot on the couch next to my mom, and got lost in FootLoose. Every time Kevin Bacon would start dancing, she would giggle like a little school-girl.

"Now, Bellie," she said interrupting the movie, "you got to find a guy that can dance. If a guy can't perform on the dance floor, well then, he certainly can't perform in…uh… other places." She winked at me.

"Mom! Seriously, why? You know I'm the most uncoordinated person ever, it wouldn't even matter if the guy that I find can 'perform on the dance floor,' I wouldn't be able to follow."

She snickered, "Yeah that is pretty true. I honestly don't know where your clumsiness came from. It must just be a Bella gene."

"Awesome," I said sarcastically.

The movie came to an ending and Mom declared that it was bed time for her. "Okay, Momma. I'll be up there in a few minutes."

"Take your time, Bellie." Even though I was seventeen, every time my father was out of town I slept in the bed with my mom. We both felt safer that way, and after hearing about the murderers that were found, I had no problem crawling into bed with my mom. I went upstairs and changed into my worn out sweat pants and tank top. I brushed my teeth and headed for my mom's room. She had the blankets turned down on the queen-sized bed for me. I laid down and snuggled into the blankets.

"Bellie?"

"Yeah, Momma?"

"I love you, honey. No matter what I'll always love you," She said somberly, catching me off guard.

"I love you too, Momma. Is everything ok?"

"Of course, Sweetie. I just thought I'd tell you I love you," she said.

"Oh ok. I love you. Good night, Momma."

"Sweet dreams, Isabella." I laid there and tried to fall asleep, but something felt off. Mom had been so happy all afternoon, but her mood changed as we were going to sleep. She never called me Isabella unless I was in trouble, or something was wrong. She seemed to fall asleep right away, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.

After tossing and turning for about thirty minutes, I was finally able to drift off to sleep. But it didn't last long. A loud crash from downstairs woke me up. I peeked at the clock and it read twelve thirty. I shook my mom to wake her up. "Mom, wake up. I heard something downstairs."

"What?" she said sleepily.

"Someone is downstairs! We have to get up!"

As soon as the words left my lips the bedroom door was opened. In walked two women, one tall and lean with long, curly red hair and the other one short and thin with short, blonde hair.

"Bella, get out of here now!" my mom commanded. There was no way out, the doorway was being blocked by the women.

The red haired woman laughed, "There's no way either one of bitches are getting out of here alive. You think your fucking husband can just take our men away?" she paused, "The answer's no, and he's about to find out that pay back is a big bitch," She pointed at me and I froze, "Jane, take that one and tie her to the bed. I'll handle the officer's wife."

"No!" I heard my mom scream as Jane moved over to me. She set a large bag down on the floor and pulled out some duct tape and a rope.

"This may hurt just a bit," she whispered cruelly to me. I tried to scream and fight back, but Jane pulled her fist back and struck me straight in the nose. I cried out in pain as I heard my mom screaming, "Please, don't hurt her anymore! Hurt me, kill me, but please don't do this to her!"

Blood was pouring out of my nose as Jane pulled my hands behind my back and secured them together with duct tape.

"What next, Victoria?" Jane questioned.

"Bind her feet together and tie her to the bed, dumb ass. We've been over how this is supposed to happen!"

Jane followed what Victoria said and I was bound to the bed. I couldn't move at all, but I could scream, and that's what I did.

"You little bitch! Shut the fuck up! Screaming can't help you now," Victoria screeched. Jane tore off a strip of duct tape and placed it over my mouth, cutting off any hope of us being found. "Now let me take care of the wife," Victoria snarled. I started screaming again but it was only mumbles. "What's that? You want to watch as I fucking kill your mother?" Victoria questioned.

"Please don't, don't make her watch," I heard my mother plead.

"Okay, she can watch! Sounds good to me!" Victoria said excitedly as she pulled my mom down off the bed and bound her to the bed post opposite of me. We both stared at each other with tears in our eyes.

"Bellie, I love you. No matter what happens tonight, I will always love you. I will always be with you," she sobbed. My tears only increased as I nodded. There was so much that I wanted to say, but I couldn't.

"Awe, isn't that the sweetest thing you ever did see Janie?"

Jane laughed, "Yeah, it almost brings tears to my eyes."

Victoria crouched down in front of my mother and pulled out a large knife from the bag. My eyes widened and I tried once more to scream, but it was fruitless. Victoria brought the knife to my mother's throat and I looked away, but Jane forced my face to look at my mother.

"Bye, bitch," Victoria snarled as she pulled that blade across my mother's neck. I screamed out and began crying hysterically.

My mother was gone.

I turned my face away from her body closed my eyes hoping to get the image out of my head but it was impossible.

"What about her?" I heard Jane ask.

"I got it," Victoria said. She pulled a metal bat out of her bag. I looked up long enough to see her raise it above her head, then turned my head as far as I could.

I heard two gun shots, and everything went black.

"Bells? You in there?" I heard my father say.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm here," I responded, being pulled back into the present.

"School's starting soon, are you sure you want to go back today? You can always give it another week."

I feigned a smile, "Yeah, Dad. If I don't go back now, I'll never go back."

"Alright. If it gets to be too much, come home."

"Ok," I added in a small voice.

Luckily for me, my clothes were in the dryer. I was in no rush to go back to my room, where an hour earlier that thing may or may not have been lurking. I threw on my standard outfit, dark wash skinny jeans, black t-shirt, black hoodie, and red Converse. I stopped at the bottom of the steps and picked up my book bag from the same spot that I had dropped it three weeks ago. I slung it over my shoulder, and surveyed our house. It was a total wreck. Three weeks worth of dishes, clothes, and general clutter were scattered throughout the living room, kitchen, and trailed up the stairs. The mess only stood to represent three weeks of sleepless nights, cold, insensitive police interviews, a devastated father, constant guilt and alienation, but most of all, three weeks without a best friend and a mother.

Maybe in time some of these things could be repaired, but I'd forever lost my constant friend that I could share everything with. I lost a chunk of my heart that I'll never get back

With tears streaming down my face, I left my broken house with its three weeks of heartbreak threatening to consume me.

**So, what do you think? Let me know by leaving a review! They are very much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all recognizable characters. I'm just putting them through different shenanigans. The shenanigans are mine.**

"Cullen!" Aro's voice rang out over the speaker. I placed my book on the table and ran to his floor.

"Yes?" I responded

"I've got a job for you," _Fucking fantastic, _I thought, "Three weeks ago, I sent out two recruits to Seattle to bring back a few humans for us," he paused, "Well, the fuckers said that they couldn't control themselves and ended up killing a few people very conspicuously. They seemed to think that they were already like us. Anyway, they were taken in by Police Chief Charlie Swan out of Forks, and they tried to threaten the cop into letting them go, almost exposing everything about our kind and what this organization could do to him and his family. The Chief ignored their threats and arrested them for murder, evasion, and threatening a police officer."

"So, what's my job?" Usually Aro just gave me my assignment, kill this person, change this one, and bring this one back. He had never before given me an explanation for my duties, I knew my place.

I was a murderer, plain and simple.

I've belonged to Aro ever since he changed me in 1918. Death is all I know, all that anyone knows who is owned by Aro. That's just the way life is for me and the nine others that call this place home, the life of a vampire.

"Do not interrupt!" Aro snarled, "After the dumb asses were booked, they made their one phone call. Instead of directly calling me, they decided it would be a good fucking idea to call their girlfriends. Alec and Felix told their girlfriends that I had orders for them to kill Chief Swan's wife and daughter. So, the dumb bitches went to the Chief's house, tied up the mother and daughter, and slit the mother's throat, but apparently, when the women entered the house the phone started ringing, Victoria, which was Alec's girl, picked up the phone and set it down without hanging it up. The person on the phone was the Chief calling to check on his family. He stayed on the line after hearing the unfamiliar women's voices, and then he heard his daughter's screaming. He hung up and immediately called the Forks Police to get someone over to his house. The cops made it in right as Victoria was about to kill the daughter, then the officers shot the women, killing them and saving the daughter."

"And, these are the kind of dipshits you want to recruit? You know how to pick some winners, Aro."

He came at me and tried to grab my throat, but I was too fast, I was already across the room by the time he realized what was going on. If there was one thing Aro didn't like it was being called out on his mistakes.

"Damn it, Edward! Just fucking listen! I had James take care of Alec and Felix. I need you to finish off the Chief and his daughter. The Chief knows too much about us and his court day is tomorrow, the daughter has heard the Chief speak of us, and they are liabilities. Take care of the daughter first, the Chief has already lost a lot, once he sees that his daughter is gone, he won't have anything to live for. He will welcome death. Here is the address." He handed me a slip of paper with the address scrawled on it. I tucked it in my pocket and began walking away.

"Our way of life could be in jeopardy. Be back before sun rise, Edward. Finish this tonight."

"Got it, oh-mighty-wise-one," I responded. I walked out the door and caught Aro mumbling "son-of-a-bitch kid" under his breath.

I went back to my room and lay down on the couch. All of us, Aro's vampires, were given quarters when he changed us. Each of us was given an apartment consisting of a large bedroom and bathroom. Aro learned early on that vampires did not share space well, and I've seen first-hand many of us tear each other apart over territory and possessions. That's why we were each given our own place, sanctuaries away from the constant violence of our world. Our complex is six stories high and resembles a hotel. Aro lives on the sixth floor and the other five floors are divided into two apartments on each floor.

I glanced at my watch; it read 11:45 p.m. Fifteen minutes was plenty of time for me to make it to Forks. I grabbed my hooded robe off the floor and threw it on. For some reason Aro insisted that we wear dark robes when we went on our assignments. Why? I have no idea, I felt pretty damn ridiculous sporting a floor-length robe while running around killing people, but rules were rules.

I opened my window and dropped down to the ground with a quiet thud. I took off towards Forks, and located the Swan's house. I listened in and heard two heartbeats, one was slow and located on the first floor, accompanied by loud snoring, and I took this one to be Charlie. The second heartbeat was fast and irregular, located on the second floor. I listened closer, "Mom," a girls voice sobbed, I took this to be the daughter's room. I found the window that would lead me into the girl's room and scaled the side of the house. To my advantage the window was not locked. I held onto the window ledge with one hand and silently lifted the window open. I swung myself into the room and froze. The girl's blood smelled like nothing I had ever encountered before, it was heavenly.

"Mom," she sobbed again. I looked over her, her eyes were tightly shut with tears slipping down her cheeks and she was gripping her blanket with all of her strength. "Don't kill her! Please, I love her. Mom!" She was having a nightmare. She let out a scream that choked off into a sob, and then she sat up straight and opened her eyes. Before she could see me, I threw myself on the floor and moved under her bed.

"It's just a nightmare," she told herself. She fell back onto her bed and gripped her comforter over her head. Her scent was intoxicating, I couldn't take much more of it, I had to have her blood. Her breathing and heart beat slowed to a steady rate, and I knew she was sleeping again. I slipped out from under her bed and stood over the girl. I took in a deep breath filled with her scent; I picked up her wrist and brought it to my lips. I sunk one tooth into the skin and her blood filled my mouth. I let out a low moan; this was the best blood I had tasted in over ninety years. _Slow down,_ I had to tell myself. I pressed my thumb over the incision I had made; the pressure caused the bleeding to stop and the skin to heal. The girl rolled over away from me, and I moved to the foot of her bed.

One of the only reasons Aro has kept me around as long as he has is my ability to control people. I could block off a person's senses, making them incapable of moving or feeling anything, but that wasn't the extent of my power, I could also make people do as I wanted them to do. Once I put my control over them, they were mine. I focused on the girl's face, her soft pink cheeks, and slightly swollen eyes were the most prominent features. I moved my eyes down to her throat, I could see the pulse behind her translucent skin, and I could smell the blood passing through her veins.

I needed it now.

I put my control over her, and gripped the bed frame, stopping myself from lunging at her throat. A low growl escaped my lips.

She opened her eyes.

_How did she just open her eyes? _I questioned. Her eyes darted around the room frantically, before falling on me at the end of her bed. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out, and she couldn't move anywhere. _So my control doesn't work on her eyesight or brain function, but it did work on everything else. _She continued to open her mouth, trying to scream, but it was useless.

She was mine.

A drop of her blood slipped from the corner of my mouth, I flicked my tongue out to catch it and I was reminded of just how good it tasted, and of how I could soon have a lot more it. This thought brought a smile to my face.

I darted over to the bed and sat down next to her. I lifted my hood back so that it wouldn't fall in the way as I drank from her. She stared into my eyes with nothing but pure terror in hers. "Just do what you came here to do," I heard in a terrified voice. _Where the fuck did that come from? _The voice was distinctly feminine, but the girl's lips did not move. _This is too damn weird, just end it. _I told myself. I exposed her neck, and was about to lean in when the voice came back, "Why me?" She sounded totally defeated. I went to lean in again but couldn't. I turned her face back to mine and gazed into her eyes, I felt like she had somehow put a control over me. I simply couldn't take her life, no matter how delicious she smelled. I tried getting a concentrated amount of her scent in my lungs by opening her mouth and breathing in, but while it smelled absolutely intoxicating, I had no desire to drink from this girl and drain her of life. I brought her wrist up to mouth and pierced her skin with my fingernail. The scent of her blood was now all I could think about. _What is going on? _I dipped my tongue along the cut and tasted her blood once more. "What are you doing to me?" her distraught voice asked inside my head. I looked at her eyes again and saw tears falling out of them. _I can't do this to her,_ I determined. I shifted to her window and let my control go. She let out an ear-piercing scream and I growled as I jumped from window, slamming it as I descended. I ran inside the front door and quickly put a control over the Charlie.

"Your daughter was only having a nightmare. There is no blood anywhere, no cut on her wrist. You also don't know anything about a man named Aro Volturi, or his organization. Now go to your daughter and calm her. I suggest making some tea," I silently flew up the stairs and entered their bathroom. The girl had to come in here to clean up her gash; I would have to do it for her. I let go of Charlie's control, and heard his footsteps climbing the stairs. The girl was still screaming impossibly loud.

Charlie flung the door open, and went to his daughter's side. "Isabella! Wake up!" Well, at least now she has a name. "You're having a nightmare, stop screaming! Wake up, open your eyes."

"Dad! The blood, it's my blood! I'm losing it!" I really shouldn't have cut her so damn deep.

"Bells, what're you talking about? There's no blood anywhere," _At least my control worked on him._

"How are you not seeing this?" she sobbed. I felt sympathy for her, she was telling the truth. This emotion surprised me. In my ninety plus years as a vampire, I had never felt anything for my victims. They were just sustenance or an order that had to be carried out.

"Isabella, there is nothing there except your skin and it looks perfectly fine. You were just having a nightmare; you've been through a lot these past couple of weeks. It's bound to show up in your dreams." I did an excellent job at putting a control on Charlie. He wasn't cracking at all; he believed everything I told him.

"Dad, this was no nightmare. There was something in my room, it looked like a man, but there was no way that's what it was. It was super fast, had blood dripping out of its mouth, and had red and black eyes. It blocked off all of my senses except for sight and paralyzed me. It cut my wrist open with its fingernail and tasted my blood. It's still cut and there is still blood coming out of it, I can see it Dad, why can't you?" This statement got me worried. Isabella was extremely observant. My control did absolutely nothing to her sight.

"Bella, you have to believe me, there is no blood and your wrist is just fine. Why don't we go downstairs and you can make some tea or something." I chuckled; in my human life my mother would always make me tea when something bad happened, like tea could fix everything.

"Let me just go to the bathroom real quick then I'll be down there," I slipped into the shower and pulled the curtain closed. Isabella shut the door and turned the sink on. She placed her wrist under the water and her blood became diluted. Once her cut was clean, she turned the water off and pulled open the mirror medicine cabinet door. I moved out of the shower and stood behind her. She closed the mirror and looked in it. She found me staring back at her and opened her mouth to scream, before any sound could escape, I placed my hand over her mouth. "Not another word," I said menacingly. I pulled her wrist up and pressed my thumb over the gash, it vanished. She shut her eyes and I let go of her and moved to her room and found sheets and a comforter to replace the bloody ones. I took the ruined ones with me and jumped out of her window.

I ran back to our complex and disposed of the bedding in a dumpster. I had to explain my failure to Aro, who was going to be furious.

I entered the building and went up to Aro's floor.

"How'd it go, Edward?"

"Not well," I responded.

"Not well? Edward, just exactly what do you mean by not well? Those were orders I gave you, not fucking suggestions!"

"Listen Aro! Before you flip the fuck out some more, just calm the hell down and listen to what I have to say," I yelled back. Fire sparked in his eyes. "Please," I added.

"There better be a damn good reason as to why you did not follow my orders."

"There is sir, well at least I think it's a good reason," I began. "Isabella," Aro raised an eyebrow at me, "the Chief's daughter, could not be completely put under my control."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean just what I said, she could not be totally controlled. Her sight was still enabled; she could see me and everything I was doing."

"Are you sure you performed it right?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I retorted. Aro had a questioning look on his face, "What?"

"Even, if she could see you, that doesn't mean you just forget to follow orders. Your orders were to end the rest of the Swan family tonight. You have failed. I need a better reason than 'she could still see,' if you don't want to face the consequences of failure, which I'm sure you're aware of what they are."

"Of course I know what they are. Most of the time I have to carry them out."

"Good, tell me your excuse, I'm dying to know why you have disobeyed me," he said sarcastically.

"I could not follow my orders because there is something special about this girl."

"Edward," he said sternly, "you are not having feelings for this little human, are you?"

"No, sir. Now, if you would please quit interrupting me," Aro looked at me incredulously, "I say she is special, not because I have 'feelings' for her, but because she is. First of all, as I mentioned before, she could not be completely put under my control. No human, or vampire, for that matter, has ever been able to resist my control. She could. Secondly, I believe she could project thoughts into my head," Aro's eyes lightened up at this.

"Elaborate on that, please," Aro asked.

"As I was trying to put a complete control over her, I heard her voice in my head, but her lips did not move. She said, 'Just do what you came here to do.'"

"Fascinating," Aro said excitedly, "Were there any other instances of this?"

"Yes, two other times, she asked 'why me?' and 'what are you doing to me?'"

"A speaker, and a shield," he mumbled to himself.

"A what and a what?" I questioned.

"A speaker, one who can speak into another's minds, and a shield, one that can block out the powers of others, gifts, Edward, much like your gift as a controller. You were right, Edward. This girl is damn special. If you didn't kill the daughter, what became of the Chief?"

"I was able to put a control over him. I told him that Isabella was only having a nightmare, no one was in her room," I paused, "and that he knows nothing of Aro Volturi or the organization."

A smile spread across Aro's face, "Good work, my boy. You're dismissed."

I breathed a sigh of relief and left Aro's floor for my room. Once I made it inside, I threw myself onto my bed. Why we had beds in our rooms, I never really understood. It wasn't as if any of us slept, but right now I was grateful for it. The softness of the mattress just felt fucking good. I let my eyes close and relaxed, that was until I heard Aro's voice come over the speaker.

"Edward, I need to see you again," _Son of a bitch. _Pretty much anytime Aro's voice came over my speaker, cursing was induced. I left my room and returned to Aro's floor.

"What this time?" I asked, annoyed.

"Isabella's first day back to school after her mother's death is today," he smiled.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Get your book satchel and lunch box, my boy, because your first day back to school since, well, since 1918, is today."

"What the fuck? You seriously expect me to enter a high school? Do you know what happens in school, Aro?" I didn't give him time to answer, "Hundreds of children enter a building and are kept there all day, and these children are full of blood. Now answer me this, Aro, how good of an idea would it be to send in a creature, who craves blood, into such establishment?"

"Stop being so dramatic, Edward. You know you have the best control out of all of us. Plus, you won't be going alone, James is accompanying you. You two are to keep each other in check, to ensure that there will be no slip-ups."

"Why are we even going there?"

"I want you to watch Isabella, get close to her. Get a full grip on what she does and is capable of doing."

"Why are we going through all this trouble?"

"Because, Edward. She could become my most favorite treasure," Aro said proudly, "It's six o'clock now, go hunt. Get satiated before you go to school. James is already out and he will meet you there," I turned to leave once again, "Edward."

I turned toward him, "Sir?"

"You'll need these," He tossed four small boxes at me, I glanced down at them, green eye contacts, "The venom in your eyes will dissolve these every four hours, and they will be annoying, but we already stand out, the more we can conceal the better."

"I got it," I responded.

"Forks High School, seven o'clock. Go now," Aro finished.

I went to my room and changed clothes, leaving that stupid robe behind. _What do teenagers wear these days? _I had no idea. I pulled on a grey t-shirt and black jeans and laced up my black combat boots. _This'll have to work._ I jumped out my window and headed off to feed.

_I really hope I don't fuck this whole thing up. _

**Thank you to everyone who has been reading this! It really means alot to me. Let me know what you think by leaving a review! Reviews are like fuel to write.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and any publicly recognizable characters.**

BPOV

School was more tolerable than I imagined it would be due in large part to my two best friends. I have known Alice Brandon and Jacob Black since I moved here two years ago. I expected my first day at Forks High School to be one of the worst days of my life, but before I could even step foot inside my classroom, this little pixie-like form bounded up to me and introduced herself as Alice. She said that we were going to be best friends, and for some reason I never questioned it. She's helped me through more than I can even begin to say. Alice is one of the most optimistic, truthful, beautiful and all-around good people that I know. She's the polar opposite of me, but I guess that saying of "opposites attract" is true. Alice loves fashion, shopping, and being a total girly girl. I've been kidnapped and forced to go shopping so many times that I've lost count, but that's just how Alice is and I love her for it.

Jacob and I, on the other hand, didn't have such a smooth start. After school on my second day in Forks, I was backing out of my parking spot when I clipped the front wheel of Jacob's motorcycle with my truck, sending the motorcycle toppling over onto him. I slammed my truck into park and flew out of the door, tears already falling down my cheeks.

"Son-of-a-bitch! Why can't you watch where you're going, douche bag!" Jacob started yelling as I got around to the back of my truck, he was trying to move the bike off of his body and stand up. "Damn it! If you don't know how to look in a damn rearview mirror, you shouldn't be fucking driving in the first place!" Tears continued to pour down my face as Jacob stood up. "Damn it!" he yelled once more and then looked over at me.

I glanced up at him and he had a shocked expression on his face, "I'm so sorry," I began apologizing. "I'll pay for whatever is screwed up. I should have looked before I backed out. Oh my God! I could have killed you! I'm so sorry! Do you need to go to the hospital? I should call 911," Jacob finally stopped my word vomit.

"Listen, you need to calm down. I'm not hurt, everything is okay. I shouldn't have cursed so much; I thought you were some douche bag guy."

I wiped the tears from eyes, "Oh, so it's okay if you almost get run over by a girl, but not by a guy? You should be cursing; I know I would have been."

"Well, girls are naturally bad drivers, so, this expected," he said sternly.

"Are you serious?" anger bubbled inside of me.

"Yes, completely serious."

"Well, since we girls are such bad drivers, I suggest you move that pile of junk that is stuck under my truck before I run over it again." I jumped into my truck and slammed the door. I started it up and threw it into reverse. I rolled backwards until I heard Jacob yelling, "Stop! Damn it! I'm moving the bike!"

I smiled as I heard the metal scrape against the concrete, and the engine rev as Jacob sped away. Over the next couple of days I would pass Jacob in the hallway and he would wink at me, confusing me and pissing me off greatly. Three days after our accident, and his continuous winking, I cornered him and asked him what his deal was, "It's funny to see you get all blushy and angry," he snickered.

"Whatever, please, just stop it. What do I owe for running over you and your bike?"

"Eternal servitude." Jacob said completely serious.

"God, you are infuriating!"

"My name isn't God, its Jacob, but I'm glad you think so highly of me," he laughed.

I had enough, "Screw you!" I yelled as I started walking away, I didn't get too far before Jacob grabbed my arm. "What do you want?" I said through clenched teeth.

"Look, can we start over? Sorry, I'm a jerk, and I'm sarcastic, it's a defense mechanism."

"Why could you possibly need to be defensive?"

"You're kind of intimidating, chick."

Me? Intimidating? I never thought those two words would be put together in a sentence; it caught me off guard, "Huh?"

"Look, you ran over me once and then almost tried to do it again, you don't seem like a chick that messes around. I can admire that. So let's start over, you don't owe me anything for my bike," Jacob stuck out his hand, "Friends?"

I rolled my eyes and shook his hand, "Sure."

We haven't had any other misunderstandings since those days. Alice and Jacob, however, have, they always butt heads over random things. Alice, being Alice, is always optimistic about everything in life; she pretty much owns the silver linings to every cloud. Jacob is completely different; he sees a situation for what it is, whether it is good or bad. Everything is black and white to him. He doesn't add any sugar-coating, often causing disagreements between the two of them. For me, it's a perfect balance for which I am extremely grateful. I know I can count on them to get me through anything, especially now.

As soon as I stepped out of my truck, Alice and Jacob were at my side, both pulling me into a tight hug.

"Bella, we're here for you all day. If you need anything, let us know," Alice reassured me. I nodded.

"Yeah, Bells, the next couple of days back at school are going to be tough, but we got your back, always," Jacob added.

"Thanks, guys."

Alice put her arm around my waist, and Jacob held my hand as we walked inside. People stared and whispered as I walked through the halls. I guessed they were waiting for me to crack and completely break down, but I trusted Alice and Jacob completely, they wouldn't let me crumble. My first class was English, and thankfully I shared this class with Alice. I found my seat, and Alice took the one in front of me, immediately everyone turned to look in my direction.

"If you want to keep your eyeballs, I suggest all of you turn them some where else," Alice snapped. Needless to say no one was looking at me anymore.

"Thank you," I whispered to Alice. She nodded in response. Mr. Berty, our English teacher, walked in a few minutes later, and began teaching the lesson, bringing no attention to the fact that I was back. _Note to self: Thank Mr. Berty. _Thirty minutes into our lesson, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Berty opened it and stepped outside.

Alice tensed up, "Al, what's up?" I whispered.

"Nothing, Bella. Just a new student," She answered. Alice had really good hearing, where as I could only hear whispers coming from the door opening, Alice could clearly understand everything that was being said.

Mr. Berty entered the room again followed by the new student. "Class, this is Edward. Edward this is the class, choose a seat."

Edward looked across the room and there was a collective sigh heard from the girls in the room. Edward was indisputably the most gorgeous guy I have ever had the privilege of laying my eyes on. He was tall, probably six foot, with a slim, muscular body. His skin was pale and perfect, and stretched tightly around his strong cheek and jaw bones. He had deep, piercing green eyes and a mess of bronze hair on his head. He scanned the room once more before his eyes fell on me. He smirked and then made his way down my row of desks; he paused when he got to Alice's desk, and looked down at her questioningly before moving on and taking the seat behind me. Mr. Berty continued on with his lesson and assigned us homework before the bell rang. The bell didn't even finish ringing before Alice grabbed me up and walked us out the door. Alice may be small, but she is strong, I never fought her when it came to something physical.

Alice walked me to my next class, and much to my delight the attention had been deflected off of me and onto our new arrivals. Edward and his brother, James, who apparently was almost as good looking as Edward, were now the school's hot topic. _Note to self: Thank Edward and James. _

I had to get through Trigonometry by myself which wasn't much of a problem because Edward was once again in my class. I thought of him as an attention shield. He sat in the desk next to me this time.

"Hello, you were in my English class this morning weren't you?" he asked me. I was a little surprised, why was he talking to me? Every set of female eyes in the classroom were glaring at me.

"Uh, yeah. I was," I responded quietly.

"Cool. I'm Edward, by the way," he stuck his hand out to me.

"Bella," I said as I shook his hand. It was unnaturally cold; I then noticed that he only had on a t-shirt and jeans, no jacket. It was around forty degrees outside that would explain the coolness of his skin.

"It's nice to meet you, Bella," he added in a smooth voice.

"You, too," I managed to speak. Why was he making me so nervous? The right side of his mouth moved up into a crooked smile, and I think my breathing stopped. He was _too _good looking.

"Eyes up here, everyone," a voice interrupted my crooked smile induced stupor and I mentally scolded myself for getting so caught up in the new guy. I turned my attention to the front where Mr. Varner started going on and on about sines, cosines, and tangents. I focused on taking detailed notes, I was already so far behind, and not paying attention wasn't an option. After an hour, our class was dismissed. I was walking out into the hallway when I felt someone slip their arm around my waist, I turned and found Jacob standing there, ready to walk to our next class.

"Did something happen in Trig.?" he asked me.

"No, why?"

"Jessica Stanley is shooting daggers at you," he nodded back to the Trig. classroom where Jessica was standing with her arms crossed and eyes harshly glaring onto mine.

"I don't know what her deal is," I responded. I looked back once again to see Edward walk out of the classroom. Jessica dropped her eyes from me and locked them on to Edward and followed him down the hall. "Ah, never mind. I know what's up with her." I pointed at Jessica's form tailing Edward, "He talked to me in class." Jacob rolled his eyes.

"The girls around here are going crazy for these guys, I don't get it, but I'll bet that there will be an all-out cat fight by the end of the day."

We stopped at our lockers to grab our books for history. Alice met up with us and walked with us to Jacob and my history class.

"See you at lunch, Bella!" Alice waved as we entered our history classroom. Jacob and I found our table and sat down.

Mrs. Smith came in and walked to the front of the classroom, "Bella Swan, It is so good to have you back! I'm terribly sorry for your loss; I can't even imagine what you must be going through. I'm sure your mother is in a better place now and smiling down on you right now." Everyone grew stiff in their chair. Jacob moved beside me and placed his arm around my shoulder, tears slipped down my cheeks. I lowered my head. I had been doing so well today, staying focused on my work that I needed to get done, laughing at the mundane dramas of high school. No one else acknowledged the fact that this was my first day back since the murder, but leave it to Mrs. Smith to burst my already too thin bubble.

Mrs. Smith turned to the board and start writing down dates and events that we would need to know for our upcoming test. I heard Jacob tear a piece of paper and pass it to me. I looked down at it.

**How did the Burger King get the Dairy Queen pregnant? **There was a small arrow at the bottom of the paper, indicating that I needed to flip it over.

**He forgot to wrap his whopper!**

I looked up at Jacob and smiled, leave it to him to use a dirty joke to cheer me up. He tore out another piece of paper and wrote another note.

**Mrs. Smith's a bitch. How has the rest of your day been?**

I grabbed my pen and wrote back.

**Surprisingly okay. Alice threatened to gouge eyeballs out in English, but other than that and what just happened, I've been doing good. **Jacob snickered.

**That's great Bells, I'm proud of you.**

I smiled back.

"Uh, Miss Swan, Mr. Black, is there anything you'd like to share with the class?"

"No," Jacob growled through his teeth.

"Good, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling me who fought in the French and Indian War," she said mockingly. I was about to speak when a voice cut me off.

"Being that the name of the war is the French and Indian war, it is often a common misconception that the French were fighting against the Native Americans, but this is not true. In the 1750s, France and Britain were fighting in Europe. The war was spreading to North America. British Colonists wanted to take over French land in North America. Also, British wanted to take over the fur trade in the French held territory. British soldiers fought against French soldiers and Native Americans. The Native Americans joined in the battle against the British because they were afraid that the British would take over their land. The war ended in 1759 when British Major General James Wolfe captured Quebec. So the answer to your question would be the British against French and the Native Americans" I looked behind me to see Edward looking smugly at Mrs. Smith; he glanced over at me and winked.

"Thank you Mr. Cullen, you can stay after class," Mrs. Smith said dejectedly, "Everyone else is dismissed."

"Thanks, Edward," I said as I gathered my stuff to leave.

"No problem, Bella. Mrs. Smith's a bitch."

"I said the exact same thing," Jacob chimed in. Edward laughed and Jacob stuck out his fist, "Name's Jacob."

"Edward," he said as they bumped fists.

"Good luck with the bitch," Jacob said as we walked out. Next was lunch, Jacob's favorite class. Alice was already at our table. I sat down and Jacob went to get food for all of us.

"Bella, I know how much you hate to, but I think it would be really fun if," I cut her off, I already knew what she wanted.

"Sure, Alice, I'll go shopping with you."

She squealed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Bella. It's going to be fun; we're going to Port Angeles. We'll get you away from Forks for awhile."

"Thanks, Al. I appreciate it."

Jacob came back with two trays full of food, "Eat up, shorties." I hadn't been eating much over the past three weeks, and had lost some weight. Jacob was determined to "fatten me up" as he put it. We shared the tray of pizza, fruit, and potato chips.

"Hey, Jake," Alice prompted. He mumbled what sounded like a "huh" through all the food in his mouth, "Bella and I are going shopping tonight in Port Angeles, you want to come with?"

"Oh, Al," he started with a girly lisp in his voice, "As much as I'd just love to join the both of you. I have to do something else that isn't gay." We all laughed.

Lunch ended and we had to go our separate ways for our last classes of the day. I had Biology, I entered the classroom and noticed someone was sitting at the table that I usually had to myself, of course it was Edward. We had every other class together; it would only make sense for him to be in Biology.

"Hey, Bella," he said as I sat down, "I hope you don't mind me sitting here."

"No, it's cool. How did things go with Mrs. Smith?"

"I am no longer allowed to speak out unless spoken to, and I cannot act as if I know more than her."

"Wow, she really is bitch," I added. Edward smiled and nodded. Class passed quickly, Mr. Banner lectured on the phases of body cells, and told us that we would have a lab experiment about it tomorrow. He dismissed us and I met Alice in the parking lot.

"You ready to shop until we drop?" Alice asked excitedly.

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, I just need to drop my truck off and leave Charlie a note. Meet me at my house?"

"Sounds good, see you there."

Edward walked by as I climbed into my truck, "See you tomorrow, Bella. I'm glad I met you."

"Uh, thanks, Edward. See you tomorrow." I drove home and parked my truck, Alice was already there. I ran inside and wrote a note for Charlie explaining where I would be and who I was with; he had to go to court today and wouldn't be back until late.

We made it to Port Angeles and start going in and out of stores. Alice threw me into a dressing room at every store and piled clothes on me. She ended up buying me an almost completely new wardrobe, even though I argued and insisted that she not spend a dime on me. She waved me off every time I protested, saying that I deserved it.

She dropped me off at my house around ten o'clock. I walked in the kitchen to find Charlie sitting at the table with four empty beer cans knocked over and a cold one in his hand.

"Dad," I said quietly. He looked up at me, his eyes were swollen and red, "How did it go today?"

"They closed the case, Bells. It was at a dead end, anyone connected to the murder has been murdered. It's just over."

I sank down to the ground as the tears and sobs came uncontrollably, my mother was murdered and no one has to pay for it.

**I want to say thank you to everyone who has read this. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Reviews are like getting full-sized candy bars on Halloween.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I'm just messing around with her characters.**

"Dad?" I sobbed from my place on the floor, he turned his head toward me, "Maybe, I could go to court and testify, tell the judge everything I know again. There has to be something we can do to get to the bottom of this."

"Bells, it's over," he said in a defeated tone, "The judge knows what you saw and heard, it's written down word for word. The people behind your mother's death were killed, I've told you that. The guys that we took in near La Push threatened me, I didn't take them serious enough, and they called their girlfriend's and came over here. The girls and the guys I brought in were all murdered, ending any connection to a true motive that we could have had. There is nothing else we can do," he said emotionless.

"How can there be nothing to do, this can't just be a dead-end!" I raised my voice. "Have they thought to look into where those scumbags were from? Who were they working for, where did they live? Anything like that? I mean hasn't anyone heard of a background check?" There was no way I could just let this go.

"Isabella, do you not think we have done all of that? Their background's came up clear. No criminal records, the women were school teachers and the men worked for a bank. There were no connections to anything or anyone," his voice took on a sharp edge.

I stood up, anger taking over, "So, you're just going to let this go? Forget that some complete psychos had mom killed and almost killed me? How could you do this? We've had three weeks of devastation devouring us, and now when we might get a chance at peace, we're just supposed to give up? I can't do that, Dad. I was there, I saw the life leave Mom's eyes, I was forced to watch her breathe her last breath. I'm not stopping; there is no way I'm giving up. I will find out why this happened to us. She was your everything, Dad, or at least that's what I believed," I watched as Charlie's eyes hardened, and his teeth clenched.

"How dare you," he stated in a low voice, "How dare you question the love I have for your mother!" I immediately regretted what I had said. I backed against the wall and watched as my father stood up and kicked his chair over, "Isabella Marie Swan, I love your mother more than you can even begin to imagine. Do you not think that I have been going over every possible way to find out who was behind this? When I found out that our case was closed, it was like losing Renee all over again! I know that there is someone out there who knows more, those guys didn't order those women to murder for no reason, but with every suspect dead, we're stuck. That's why the case is closed," his voice lowered, but his face remained stern. He moved over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, "Bella, what you saw of your mother's last moments is terrible, something that will haunt you, and I'm so completely sorry for that. You have to trust me, if there was anything we could do, it would be done. Unless something else comes up, it's a closed case," he paused and his face softened, "Now, we have to work on getting us put back together. Your mother wouldn't want this, and we can't live like this," he finished.

"I'm sorry," I added as Charlie dropped his arms.

"Bella," he said before I left the room. I turned around to face him, "You can't go snooping around this case, these people were dangerous and unstable. The people behind them are just as volatile, probably more. I can't stand to lose another person I love, so just let the people who know how to handle this take care of it. Promise me."

"I promise, Dad," I grabbed the bags of clothes from Alice's shopping trip and went upstairs kicking clutter out of the way. I opened my door and fear crept over me. After everything that had happened today, I had almost forgotten about the intruder who had been in my room this morning. I looked around the room and something felt…off, everything was eerily clean, my bed was made, and any clothes that were on the floor were in my hamper. My school books were sitting in a neat pile on my desk.

Someone had been in my room again.

I flew down the stairs, "Dad, where are you!"

"I'm in the kitchen, Bells. What's wrong?" he yelled. I stepped into the kitchen and noticed that he had knocked back a few more beers, and had a bottle of Jack Daniel's in his hand. I didn't even know we had anything that strong in our house.

"Did you clean up my room today?" I asked in a panic.

"Bella, does it look like I've cleaned anything?" he slurred and laughed at the same time. Dread and fear rocked through me, and I froze, "What's the matter, Bells?"

"Someone was in my room again, Dad," I choked out.

"What do you mean, again? You're not still under the impression that some creature was in your room this morning, are you?" He never believed me this morning, he only thought it was a nightmare, "There was never anything there, just your nightmare, Bells," he was mumbling and slurring every word.

"Can I sleep on the couch, Dad?" there was no way I could ever fall asleep in my room. To be honest, I'd be happy if I never had to go back in there again.

"Bells, there is nothing wrong with your bed or bedroom, the couch is mine. It's the only place left that I can get some sleep," my father hadn't been in his room since the murder. He couldn't stand to be reminded of all the memories that the room held for him and my mother. He had a friend of his go in and bring all of his clothes and necessary items downstairs.

"Fine," I muttered as I turned and went up the stairs. I went into the bathroom and checked behind the shower curtain before opening the mirror medicine cabinet and pulling out a bottle of Nyquil. I choked down about four tablespoons of the disgusting liquid and replaced the bottle. If I had to sleep in my room, I would need some help, and Nyquil always knocked me out fast. I entered my tidy room once again and went straight to the window, locking it. I looked out onto the yard and surrounding forest, and prayed that the creature would not come back. With my overhead light left on, and my door kept open, I climbed into bed and under my covers. I finally let the weight of everything that happened today hit me. Tears fell freely from my eyes as my thoughts became clouded images, the Nyquil that was taking over. I saw my dad yelling at me, my mother dying once again, and the creature's red, terrifying eyes, but the last thing I saw before I fell asleep made me smile, it was Edward's bright green eyes and beautiful smile, telling me that he was glad he met me.

"Bella!" a high-pitched voice sounded near my head. I rolled over towards the noise but didn't open my eyes, I already knew who was calling my name, "Wake up, honey bunches!"

"What do you want, Alice?" I asked grumpily. I peeked out of one eye to see Alice crouched down beside my bed with a pout on her lips and her blue eyes widened.

"No need to be a grouch, Bella. I came over to see if you wanted a ride to school," she smiled mischievously.

"I know that look, Al. What did you really come over here for?"

"Well, I know that Charlie had his trial yesterday, I wanted to see how you were, and cheer you up," she stated sincerely.

"Alice, they hit a dead-end. The case is closed for now," I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest.

"So, they've just given up?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yep, every suspect was murdered. There's nothing left to go on."

"That's bullshit," she said quietly. I couldn't agree more. Alice smiled softly at me and placed her arm gently around my shoulders, "Someone will pay for what has happened, Bella. There will be peace for you one day," she said with certainty.

"Thanks, Al. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You would wear the same outfit everyday," she said playfully as she jumped off my bed and flitted over to my shopping bags, "Now, comes the cheering up time, let me take care of your look today, please?"

"Sure, I'm your doll," I gave in; this is what made Alice happy which, in turn, made me happy. She loved making me all up, and to tell the truth, I liked it too. Alice gave me confidence when I didn't have any and made me smile when I had nothing to smile about. She was truly a best friend.

She took out all the clothes from the shopping bags and laid them out on my bed, "Oh, definitely these," she said as she handed me black skinny jeans, "oh and this, and this." she shoved a purple tank top, and cropped black leather jacket at me. I just stared at her, how did she do that so fast?

"Well, go change. We have to be at school in thirty minutes."

"Yes, ma'am," I saluted as I went into my bathroom and changed. I returned to my room to find Alice checking the temperature on a curling iron and laying out some makeup, "Al, what do you think?"

She turned around with a huge smile on her face, "Damn, Bella. You look good! No more hoodies and too big t-shirts for you, I'm dressing you up everyday!"

I laughed as Alice sat me down on my bed and began curling pieces of my hair. When she finished with my hair, she moved on to makeup, lining my eyes with black eyeliner, and brushing on mascara. "Perfect, "she said proudly as she finished with a wipe of pink lip gloss on my lips. I glanced in the mirror and got a look at myself, for once in what seemed like forever, I felt pretty.

I turned to her, "I feel pretty, Alice. Thank you."

"You _are_ pretty, Bella. And you are welcome," she said as she gave me a hug, "Now let's get to school and show you off, here are your shoes." I slipped on the black leather boots over my jeans and grabbed my books off of my desk and shoved them into my book bag. We walked downstairs and embarrassment hit me when I realized that Alice had to walk through the mess that was our house. I waved good-bye to Charlie who was stretched out on the couch, likely recovering from a hangover, and walked out the door.

I slid into Alice's yellow Mustang convertible and put my seatbelt on. Though she had never been in an accident, Alice was a crazy driver. She reached speeds that my truck couldn't even reach half of, the best thing to do when riding in a car with her driving was to get in, buckle up, and hold on.

We made it to school in no time and were greeted by Jacob, "Holy shit, Bella! You look good!"

I felt a blush creep over my face, "Uh, thanks, Jake. Alice got to me," I laughed. I scanned the parking lot looking for something, but I couldn't quite figure out what that something was until a shiny black Camaro with red racing stripes whipped into a parking spot five places down from where we stood.

I noticed that Alice tensed up as Edward got out of the passenger side and when who I guessed to be James exited the driver's side she moved closer to me and wrapped her arm around my waist.

"Good morning, Bella. You look nice today," Edward said as he walked to us. I tried to respond but it only came out in stutters. I blushed once again, _Smooth. _He then turned to Alice, "I don't think we've had the pleasure of introducing ourselves, I'm Edward," he said in a velvet voice as he stuck his hand out for Alice to shake.

She narrowed her eyes and tightly gripped Edward's hand, "Alice."

"It's very nice to meet you, Alice," Edward said cautiously.

"Hey, Ed. How about you stop harassing these people?" I heard someone say. I forced my eyes off of Edward and looked over his shoulder.

"I'm just introducing myself, Jay. Bella, Alice, Jacob, this is my brother James. James this is Jacob, Alice, and this is Bella," Edward looked right into my eyes when he said my name, and I think my insides melted. I don't know what kind our voodoo spells this boy has up his sleeves, but they sure worked on me. No guy had ever made me feel the way Edward did when he looked at me. It was alarming.

"It's so nice to meet you, Bella," James said. I shook his hand as Alice tightened her grip on me. These boys really seemed to bother her, like they were a danger or something. I would have to ask her about this later.

"Nice to meet you too, James," I said looking into his eyes; I noticed they were blue as opposed to the green that Edward's were. After I got a good look at both Edward and James together, it was hard to see that they were brothers, they really looked nothing alike. Where Edward had unruly bronze hair, James had closely shaven blonde hair. James was definitely more muscular, but slightly shorter than Edward. And as Edward's face had a softness to it, James' face was angular and harsh. The only resemblances that they shared were the pale, almost white skin, and the fact that they were both almost inhumanly beautiful.

"We should really get inside," Alice said as she broke me out of my Edward and James study. She turned me around and we walked into school.

I could hear Jake behind me talking to James, "Dude, that is one fine car. How did you get your parents to buy it for you?"

James laughed, "I guess they just love me."

We still had about ten minutes before our class would start so I pulled Alice into the bathroom, "What's your deal with Edward and James? I mean every time they come around you get all tense, and like… protective," I asked with a confused look on my face.

"Listen, they just don't seem like good people. You can't trust them, Bella," she answered harshly.

"We just met them, isn't it a little early to be passing judgment on them, I mean it seems like we're the only ones they even talk to or have made friends with," I tried explaining. I just didn't understand why Alice was acting like this, she was the most open and accepting person I knew.

"And don't you think that's a little strange, Bella. Out of everybody in this school, the new kids would only pick out us to talk to and try to be friends with? I mean you are the only person Edward has even had a conversation with!" And then it hit me, could she be jealous that Edward was giving me more attention than her?

And that's exactly what I asked her, "Al, are you jealous, or something?"

"Jealous of what, Bella?"

"Jealous that Edward has talked to me more than you?" I asked annoyed.

"Oh don't be silly, Bella. No I'm not jealous that he has talked to you, I'm worried. I have a… feeling that these guys aren't good. They aren't here to make friends, Bella, they're dangerous. You shouldn't be around them," she sounded like Charlie which only irritated me more. Did no one think that I could handle myself?

"I know you are trying to help Alice, and I appreciate that, but I have to start learning how to take care of myself. That includes who I speak to and choose to become friends with," I said firmly. Edward was the first guy that made me feel, well, special. Like something about me was different, other than being Isabella Swan, murder witness and poor pitiful victim. Even though we had only spoken a couple times, it was the words he said and the way he said them that made me only want to hear them more.

She looked at me with pleading eyes, "Just be careful, Bella."

"I will, Al. It's not like I'm going to go run off with them or anything," I snickered. She smiled slightly, "Come on; let's get to class before we're late." I dragged Alice out of the bathroom and we went down the hall to our classroom. I was kind of disappointed when we entered the room and Edward was not there yet.

Alice rolled her eyes, "He'll be here. Just go sit down." I did as she said and bent down to grab my English books out of my bag.

"Trying to find buried treasure, Bella?" I immediately smiled when I heard his voice, I looked up and saw that Edward had already taken his seat behind me, I never even heard him enter the room.

"I wish there was some treasure in this bag, but just books," I smiled.

"Some people would say that books are the greatest treasure we have," he retorted.

"Well, then I've hit the jackpot," I said as I turned around to look at him, he was smiling.

"Hey, listen, I'm not going to be here for the rest of the day. I just came to get all of my assignments," my heart sank a little, "but there is something I'd like to ask you,"

"Class, eyes up here," Mr. Berty snapped. I reluctantly turned around, Edward wasn't going to be here for the rest of the day, and Mr. Berty ruined his chance to ask me what he wanted to, _great. _I opened up my notebook and began taking notes from Mr. Berty's lecture on proper semi-colon usage. He turned around to write something on the board and two folded up pieces of paper landed on my desk at the same time, one from Alice, one from Edward.

Curiosity got the best of me and I opened Edward's note first,

**Are you doing anything this Saturday night?**

I almost squealed, but held it in; I wrote him a quick answer back,

**No.**

He tapped on my shoulder, and I grabbed the note from him,

**Would you be opposed to spending your Saturday night with me?**

I wanted to write _hell no, that would be the greatest thing ever, _but I refrained.

**No, I wouldn't be opposed to it.**

He passed the note to me once more.

**Good, I'll see you then, Bella.**

I heard Edward get up and excuse himself from class, and I watched as he walked out. As he left it felt like the energy in the room was gone too, like there was a bond of electricity between us that was extinguished when he left. I only wanted more of it.

I heard Alice clear her throat and kick my desk softly, I had forgotten her note. I unfolded it,

**Pretty faces are deceiving, don't get lost in him.**

**Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Reviews are like getting notes from Edward Cullen. Also, go check out my profile, I've got links to the outfits from the story and links to the pretty, pretty cars!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight**_** and all recognizable characters, I'm just messing around with them.**

EPOV

_Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump._

I heard the steady sound of feet hitting the forest floor and approaching fast. I took in a deep breath to catch the scent, it was definitely vampire.

I crouched into a defensive position and let out a deep growl, "Calm down, douche bag." I stood up and smiled at the small figure in front of me.

"Hello, Alice," I greeted.

She stomped her red high heel on the ground only causing her to sink into the ground and cover her foot in dirt, I laughed, "Damn it! Don't you 'Hello, Alice' me. Why are you here?" she said angrily.

She crossed her arms across her chest and cocked her hip to the left, "I'm just hunting. I wanted to get filled up, I have a hot date tonight," I smiled and licked my lips. She snarled and moved right next to my face, our noses almost touching. For such a small person, Alice had some big balls.

"You won't have anything if you don't answer my question," she said through her clenched teeth, "Why are you in Forks and what do you want with Bella?" I looked into her eyes; they were a soft buttery gold, a color I had never before seen in our kind. I couldn't stop looking at them.

She must have noticed my staring, "What are you looking at?"

"Your eyes, they're golden," I said, "What's wrong with them?"

"There's nothing wrong with them," she spat, "it just shows that I'm not a savage like _some _people," I lifted an eyebrow at her in confusion, "I don't drink from humans, only animals," she explained, "The animal blood turns your eyes a golden-bronze color. But, that doesn't even matter, answer my question, what do you want with Bella?"

I had to think of a lie quick, it never crossed my mind that I might have to actually explain myself to someone. There was no way I could tell her my real reason for being in Forks, she would probably try to tear me apart right here, not to mention what Aro would do if he found out I outted his mission, "Listen, I've been a nomad ever since I was turned in 1918," I lied, "I'm tired of moving around and never having a place to call home, I want to settle down, you know, try to be normal. And, since I'm stuck in a seventeen year old's body, I thought, why not enroll in high school?" I made my voice sound as sincere as possible. She looked at me skeptically.

"And, Bella?" she questioned.

"Well, when I entered the English classroom, I noticed you first," I smirked, "but, then you turned all ice queen towards me, I figured since you were friends with Bella, she might have some kind of idea as to what we are, it seemed safe." I almost impressed myself with that lie, hopefully she bought it.

"Are you really that stupid?" she shrilled as she stepped back and threw her hands in the air, "Bella has absolutely no idea that I am anything more than human! Do you even know the consequences that would come upon her, my family and me?" Of course I knew the consequences, I am owned by the man that created and executed them, but I couldn't explain how I knew them so I changed the subject.

"What do you mean your family, don't you mean coven?" It was rare to find a vampire that refers to their coven as a family, most weren't civilized enough to get along and share true emotions for each other. Covens were formed more for survival and way more common in our world. Even if Alice wasn't a "savage" as she put it, finding a vampire with a family was hard to believe.

"No, I mean exactly what I said when I said 'family.' I'm not explaining myself to you, but you better listen to me," she stepped up close again and shoved her finger at my chest. She lowered her voice, "The only reason I am even letting Bella go anywhere with you is the fact that this actually has her excited and happy for the first time in awhile. She is looking forward to this 'date' with you, so help me God if you hurt her or upset her in anyway; you will have hell to pay. Bella is like a sister to me, and like a daughter to my parents. We love her, and will kill for her if it is necessary. I _will_ be watching tonight."

She narrowed her eyes at me and stepped back. This little vampire had to be insane, I opened my mouth to say exactly that when she cut me off, "No, I am not insane, just protective. I don't like people fucking around with the people and things that I care about." I never actually said that she was insane out loud. Could she read minds?

"Can you-" I tried to speak again.

"No, I can't read minds. I'm psychic; I can see the future course of someone's life based on their decisions. Bella's future used to be clear, a future where she would be happy and find peace, but ever since you showed up I can't see anything of her future. It's just blank and dark. That is why I am never leaving her alone with you. I won't let her not have a future."

Alice was a ball of mystery, nothing about her or her life style made sense to me. Until the night that I snuck into Bella's room, I had never heard of vampires with gifts other than physical ones. I had thought that I was a rarity due to my control gift, apparently I was wrong. Unknown to her, Bella had the ability to block out the gifts of others, and project her own thoughts into another's mind, both abilities residing in the mind. And now there is Alice, with her mental ability to see into the future, not to mention her feeding habits, or the fact that she has a family.

"Now, I am going to Bella's house because she requested that I help her get ready for tonight. Go feed on your humans like an animal, your eyes are completely black. Be at her house at exactly seven o'clock, no later. Dress like a civilized person, and put in your contacts. Do you think you can handle that?" She was worse than Aro was when it came to barking out orders, and one hundred times more irritating. I clenched my teeth together and balled my fists up; trying to relieve the tension and anger that was taking over me.

"I'm not a fucking child, you pretentious, arrogant bitch. Yes, I will be there at seven and not because you've told me to be there," I growled, "What if I actually want to take Bella out tonight to have a nice time, did you ever think of that? And, if I so much as catch the odor of you while we're out, I will tell her that you are spying on us, and I don't think she would appreciate that very much," Bella had projected to me that she was tired of being treated like a child, incapable to manage on her own, when she and Alice discussed James and me in the girl's restroom last Tuesday. Alice pulled her lips back over her teeth and snarled, "You don't scare me, Alice. Now run off and make Bella look hot for me," I finished with a wink.

"You're an asshole," she said as she turned and sprinted off.

Finally rid of my nuisance, I started running again in search of food. I caught the scent of human and followed after it. I crouched behind a boulder and watched as a woman held a compass and a map up to her face. Alternating looks between the map and the forest around her, her heartbeat quickened and a panicked look spread across her face. I snapped a twig and watched as she spun around in my direction, I snapped another one, and growled. She fumbled around with a bag that was over her shoulder and pulled out a pistol. "Now, ma'am, you're going to want to put that away," I stepped out from behind the boulder and walked toward the woman.

She pointed the gun at my head, "Who are you? What do you want?" she said with a shaky voice.

"I'm just a lost hiker, much like you," I said in a low, seductive voice. Her hand shook with the weight of the pistol, "You are lost, aren't you?" I asked as I moved closer to her.

"Get away from me," her voice deepened, "I _will_ pull this trigger."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you will, sugar. I'm hoping for it, actually," she pulled the hammer back, preparing to take a shot, "Momma always told me not to play with my food," I said as I stepped even closer to her, only leaving three feet between us, "too bad Momma isn't here anymore."

She squeezed the trigger and the bullet flattened against my head with a thud. I caught it in my hand and held it out to her, "I believe this is yours." She pulled the hammer back once again and fired the gun, this time the bullet bounced off my chest. I reached up to the spot where the bullet hit, "Ouch, that almost hurt," I smiled at her. She dropped her gun and tried to run away. I caught her and pinned her against a tree. I put my nose to her throat, "You smell delicious, sugar," I looked into her eyes; they were filled with terror, "Good enough to eat." I sank my teeth into her neck, eliciting a scream from her. I placed my hand over her mouth and silenced her. After a minute, she grew limp and her heartbeat stopped. I continued to drink from her, enjoying the feeling of warm blood going down my throat.

Once I finished draining her, I dug a hole almost eleven feet deep in which I dumped the woman's body. No one would find her. I ran back to the complex and was called into Aro's office.

"My boy, how did the situation go in Brazil?" Aro asked cheerfully.

"Everything was taken care of, sir," Tuesday morning, Aro called James and me up to his floor to give us orders. Some vampires in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were making spectacles of themselves; we had to take them out. We had just gotten back last night.

"Fantastic, Edward. And, how are things going with Isabella Swan?" he asked.

"They are going well, sir. And, I've discovered some interesting things," he raised his eyebrows and nodded for me to continue, "Sir, her best friend is a vampire."

"What is the name of the vampire?" he inquired.

"Alice Brandon, sir."

"Ah, yes. Alice Brandon Masen, one of the daughters in the Masen family. They keep a permanent residence just outside of Forks and only feed off of animals. It's quite strange," So Aro had heard of this unconventional way of vampire life. Why had he never told any of us, or given us the option? "How are you and James handling being around the children in high school?" he changed the subject before I could ponder my new questions any further.

"It's surprisingly much easier than I thought it was going to be, James seems to be adapting as well. I'm only focused on your mission, sir. Thirst seems to take the back seat," I said smoothly.

"Ah, speaking of the mission," Aro started, "How is Bella taking to you?"

"Very well, sir. Alice, of course, wants her to have nothing to do with me, but Bella has other ideas. She has projected to me that she was tired of being treated like a child. She's got a little rebel in her," I smirked, "I actually have a date with her tonight."

"Excellent, she's falling into the trap. I almost feel bad for her, I bet you have been laying on the charm quite thick," he laughed, "Try controlling her again at some point in time, see if it works, and let me know if she speaks into your thoughts again."

"Yes, sir, I will," I was a little worried. How was I going to put a control over her without her noticing? Unless the control was complete, she would know when she started losing her senses, revealing who I was.

I turned to leave when Aro stopped me, "Take this, my boy," he said as he tossed a set of keys to me. I nodded as I caught them.

I went back to my room and decided I would take a shower. I let the water heat up to as hot as it could possibly go and stepped in. Blood from the woman I killed had run down my chin and dried on my chest, I washed that away first. I stood under the scalding water and I almost felt like a human again. The steady pelting of water was my heartbeat, the heat returned warmth to my cold, dead skin, and the drops on my face gave me the tears that could never be shed for the life that was taken from me. I couldn't remember much from my human life, all that I brought from that life to this one were names, mine and my parents.

I never knew what happened to Carlisle and Esme, when I awoke a vampire I was in Aro's control. He informed me of the transformation I had undergone, but offered no information about my human existence. I've always wanted to go find my parent's graves, but I can't even recall where I had lived for those seventeen short years, and Aro won't allow me to know.

I stayed in the shower for a bit longer, reveling in the feeling of being human. I thought back to what Aro had told me about Alice and her family. The name Masen almost sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I had heard it before. I pushed that to the back of my mind, stepped out of the shower, and toweled off. I found some jeans and a black button down shirt to wear; I put on my combat boots and popped in my contacts. I checked the time, it was six thirty.

I still had no idea where to take Bella. What do people do on dates these days? I had no idea, the only things I knew about dating were things I had seen in movies. Dinner and a movie seemed to be a common thing, but there wasn't a movie theater in Forks, and I wouldn't get to talk to her as Aro wanted.

Then it hit me, I knew exactly what we were going to do.

I grabbed the keys and ran to underground garage. We had cars for every occasion, fast, expensive, cheap, small, large, they ranged from Lamborghinis to mini vans. I hit the panic button on the key ring and found the car Aro wanted me to use.

"Fuck, yeah!" I yelled as I slid into the blacked out 2009 Dodge Challenger. It may not be the most expensive car in our collection, but it was my favorite. She was beautiful, and so fast, "Hello, Arabella," I said as I ran my hand over steering wheel and dash board. Yes, I actually named her; she was the only woman that I loved. She purred her hello as I revved her up. I tore out of the garage and did one hundred the whole way to Bella's.

I pulled up her drive way and turned the car off, "Alice," I heard Bella say from her room, "This has to be some kind of joke. There is no way that a guy like Edward would want to go out with me; I mean have you seen him? He's the most gorgeous guy I have ever seen, what could he possibly see in me?" she said sadly. She obviously didn't see herself clearly. Bella was very pretty, and had a gentle personality that was some how strong at the same time. She was the one human that had ever been allowed to get close to me, the one I couldn't hurt, and I have to earn her trust just to shatter it when I hand her over to Aro.

"Bella, you're the only one he's even paid attention to, he'd be an idiot not to see how great you are," Alice reassured her. I got out of my car and rang the doorbell right as the clock inside signaled that it was seven o'clock, "He's here, Bella. Go get him!" Alice said encouragingly. Her optimism for Bella was a far cry from the attitude she gave to me earlier, she was a great actress.

"Al, I can't do this. Go tell him I'm sick or something," Bella pleaded. There was no way she was getting out of this, Aro would be pissed if I didn't get this operation going, he didn't have much patience. I rang the doorbell again.

"Bella, you're being ridiculous. You will be fine, go have fun. You deserve it, if you need anything or if Edward tries anything, I'm only a phone call away. I can be there in no time," I could tell she added that last part for my ears to hear, but as I told her earlier she didn't scare me. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Alice opened the door, "Hello, Edward," she said feigning a smile, "you heard me up there. If you even so much as make her frown, I'll be there," she whispered too low for Bella to hear.

"Hey, pixie bitch, I'm sure I'll be making her very happy," I whispered back and smirked. Alice gave me a disgusted look and flipped me off as she headed toward her car. It was kind of fun pissing her off.

A delicous scent entered my nose and I turned around to see Bella in the doorway. I looked over her little frame, and was stunned by what I saw, she looked breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair was a cascade of curls that fell to her waist; she had smoky black eye shadow on that made her chocolate eyes stand out brightly. She had on tight blue jeans and a gray ruffled shirt with a black jacket. Then she blushed which made her all the more beautiful, "Um, hi," she said meekly. _Why is he staring at me like that? _she said in my head.

"You're beautiful, Bella," I answered. A smile spread across her face that was a mile wide, "Shall we," I said as I offered her my arm. She looped her arm through mine and I led her to Arabella.

She stopped and her mouth fell open, "Your car is amazing, Dodge Challengers are my favorite," she got a thousand points in my book just for saying that.

"Isabella, meet Arabella," I said as I opened the door for her, "Hello, Arabella. It's so nice to meet you," she laughed.

I started the engine, "What's your favorite food, Bella?" I turned to ask her, she froze, staring straight ahead, "Bella, are you okay?" She still hadn't moved.

"I'm fine," she whispered as she exhaled, "Um, I like hamburgers."

"Okay, hamburgers it is," I responded. We left her drive way and I headed into town. I glanced over at her; she was looking down at her lap and chewing on her lip, her leg bouncing up and down. Her heartbeat was racing and it dawned on me what was wrong with her, she was nervous. I would have to fix that, "Bella," I said softly. She looked over to me with wide eyes; I reached over unthinkingly and pulled her lip from her teeth. When I touched her skin, it was as if an electric current shot through my hand, I pulled my hand back quickly, "Did you feel that?" I questioned. Her hand rose to her lips indicating that she felt it too, "I'm sorry," I apologized, "I just didn't want you to break the skin and bleed or something," I mumbled out. Now she was making me nervous. _Get it together, Cullen,_ I told myself. She was still looking at me, "You really look amazing, Bella," I laid the charm on thick, giving her a smile and looking into her eyes.

"Thank you," she said, "Well, you should really thank Alice, she did all this," she explained, waving her hand around her face.

"Alice didn't do anything, you're beautiful without her help," I said truthfully. Bella, true to her nickname, was beautiful.

She blushed, "Thanks. So, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," I said with a devilish smile. I pulled into the Forks Diner and ran inside. I stared at the menu trying to decipher just how to order. The man behind the counter looked at me, "Are you going to order?" he asked impatiently.

"Yes," I snapped. I furrowed my eyebrows, almost wishing that Bella had came in with me to order, "Give me two cheeseburgers," I said slowly, " Two orders of French fried potatoes," I sounded ridiculous.

"What would you like to drink?" the man asked.

"Shit, you have to pick out drinks too?" I asked the man, he looked at me like I was an idiot. Which was exactly what I felt like. I looked back at the menu and found a list of drinks, "Um, two Coca-Colas," I said questioningly.

"I got two dairy cows, two orders of slims and two brown juices," the man yelled over his shoulder, "Will this be dine-in or to go?" I looked at him in confusion, "Are you eating inside or taking it somewhere else?" he asked with an insulting tone.

"I'm taking it somewhere else," I answered.

"In a box," he yelled, "That'll be $15.48."

Now, this I understood. I grabbed my wallet out and paid with a twenty, telling the man to keep the change. I sat down on one of the stools and looked out the window to my car, Bella was on her phone. I listened in, "Al, listen, it's going good," Damn, Alice, "He's inside getting us some food now. No I don't know where we are going, he said it's a surprise," she paused, "Alice, I know. He's not going to do anything," her tone was growing irritated, "Damn it, Alice, you're not my mom, stop trying to act like it!" she yelled as she slammed her phone shut.

"Order up!" a voice yelled as a bag was handed to me. I opened my trunk and put the bag of food inside. Bella had her legs drawn up to her chest with her head resting on them with her eyes closed.

"Everything okay?"

She jumped, "Good God, you scared me! I didn't even hear you open the door," she said as she grabbed her chest.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I got the food. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Alice, on the other hand, is driving me crazy. She seems to think that you're this monster who is going to eat me," she said exasperated. I smiled quickly, Alice was planting a fear in Bella, whether she recognized it or not, pixie bitch, "She was checking to see where we were at, and where we were going. I told her I didn't know, and guess what she said," she paused and looked at me, "She said, 'Go some place well lit, and don't let him put his hands or teeth on you.' Exact quote, I didn't make that up," she finished. For someone who wanted to protect Bella, she sure was coming dangerously close to telling her our secret.

I started the car and we sat in silence as I drove through the winding streets leading out of Forks. I headed towards First Beach, located in La Push. I drove past the parking lot for the beach and sped up the hill that led to the forest. Bella looked at me with confusion, "Just wait," I reassured her. I met the tree line and turned the car off. I spotted the trail that would lead us to our destination. With our food in one hand, I extended my other one to Bella, she grasped it and the same spark I had felt earlier raced through me. She smiled up at me and gave my hand a light squeeze. I lead her through the forest trail, catching her if she tripped which was often.

"How are you not tripping? I can't see anything," she giggled after I saved her.

"Sure footing and keen eyesight, my dear," I bantered back. I could see everything as clearly as if it were day, but to human eyes it was almost pitch black.

"I'm sorry I'm so slow," she said uneasy. Her clumsiness was cute.

"It's no problem," I explained, going slow was a change for me, "I got an idea," I turned to her as she stopped. I released her hand and scooped her up, cradling her against my chest.

"Edward!" she giggled, "You can't carry me. I'm too heavy!"

I threw my head back and laughed, "If it weren't for your wiggling around, I wouldn't even know I had you in my arms!" she stilled and I continued our journey through the woods. I saw the moonlight begin to shine through the canopy, "We're almost there, Bella." I broke through the forest line and set Bella down, her jaw dropped. I found this place one time as I was hunting; it was a cliff that soared above the ocean almost seventy-five foot. The moon was full and shone brightly above us. The waves reflected the moon's light making the ocean sparkle.

"Edward, this is beautiful," she said as she walked toward the edge of the cliff. I followed behind her, inhaling the perfume that radiated from her. I gazed at Bella bathed in the moonlight, her skin pale, almost the same shade as mine. The moon put diamonds in her eyes and she had me mesmerized. A feeling took over me that I had never felt before; it was almost as if she set my heart was beating again. Could it be hope, happiness, or a combination of both? I wasn't sure but I was enjoying every bit of it.

"You, Isabella Swan, are more divine than the stars, and more radiant than the moon," I whispered earnestly. How these feelings came about so fast surprised me, I had never expected to be capable of this.

Bella had bewitched me, and I was so fucked.

**Thanks for reading! I'm loving the reviews, and favorites, it makes my day. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Links to Arabella and chapter outfits are on my profile, check it out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight, **_**I'm just messing with her characters.**

_You treat life like a picture But it's not a moment that's frozen in time It's not gonna wait 'Til you make up your mind, at all So while this storm is breaking While there's light at the end of the tunnel Keep running towards it Releasing the pressure, that's my heartache Soon this dam will break _

_-Feels like Today, Rascal Flatts_

BPOV

"You, Isabella Swan, are more divine than the stars, and more radiant than the moon," my knees weakened and my heartbeat soared, I felt like I was floating. Edward said words that I had never expected to hear in my lifetime. I turned to face him and looked into his eyes, finding that he was gazing back into mine, almost as if he were looking for an answer in them. He took my hand in his and electricity pulsed through me again. I followed his movements with my eyes as he slowly brought my hand to his cold lips as he placed a light kiss there. I became a livewire; I could feel the sparks everywhere.

"Riesco a sentirti, Bella," he whispered, and even though I had no clue what he said, I loved it, "It's Italian, I can feel you, Bella," I smiled up at him, overwhelmed by the moment, "I feel this almost magnet-like attraction to you, this is all so foreign to me. It's happened so fast, is this strange for you?" he spoke while still holding my hand in his.

"Edward, I have never felt like this with anyone, it is strange for me, but it's a good strange, it's exciting and hopeful," I intertwined my fingers with his.

"What do we do?" he said in a low voice, almost as if to himself. I gave him a questioning look and found sadness in his eyes.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I carefully asked. I hoped I hadn't said anything wrong.

"What? Oh, nothing, angel," he said casually, confusing me, "How about we take things slow for now? We've got all the time in the world," I was thrown off by his sudden nonchalant attitude, but I just nodded, unsure of what to say, "Our food is getting cold, Bella. Let's eat," I had completely forgotten about our food, I wasn't even hungry, "Stay right, here," he told me as he walked into the forest; I lost him in the darkness. I felt uneasy with Edward gone. I could hear strange sounds coming from the forest, a whipping sound cutting through the air, and a gurgled cracking sound. Anxiety was creeping over me. I heard a loud rustling come from the trees right behind me making me jump up and scream. I turned to face the monster that I was sure was behind me.

"I'm sorry, angel," Edward chuckled, "I didn't mean to scare you," he walked toward me dragging at least a fifteen foot tree behind him, "I found us a place to sit," he smiled.

"Did you just knock this down or something?" the tree had to be at least three feet wide. It was becoming obvious that Edward was very strong.

"Nope, I just found it, exactly like this," he shrugged, taking a seat on the tree and patting the spot next to him. He handed me my food from the bag and he took his into his lap. I opened mine up and looked down at my burger, the sight of it made my stomach churn. I had no appetite whatsoever, but I didn't want to be an ungrateful date, so I took a small bite. I looked to Edward just as he took a huge bite of the burger into his mouth. He started chewing his food slowly as a look of utter disgust came over his face.

He gagged and looked like he was going to throw up, "Edward, if you don't like it you can spit it out," I laughed.

He brought a napkin to his mouth, trying to discreetly remove the burger from it, "I'm sorry, Bella. Please excuse my behavior," he spoke eloquently, "I don't understand how you huma-" he paused, "I don't understand how you can eat that cold."

"It's okay," I said still picking at the food in my lap, "I don't really like cold food either, I just didn't want to be rude."

He smiled, "Bella, you don't have to eat that, I wouldn't consider it rude if you went and threw the food over the cliff. It was truly atrocious," I laughed as placed our uneaten food back in its bag, "We can go get you something else, if you would like," he added politely.

"I'm actually not even hungry," I admitted.

"Good, then would you like to play a game?" he asked playfully.

"What kind of game are we talking about?"

"A game of life or death," he said in a serious tone, his face conveying no emotion. My heartbeat spiked and my breathing became labored, Edward looked frightening. His face shifted and a wicked grin spread across his face, I couldn't tell which expression scared me more. He threw his head back and laughed loudly, it was beautiful and instantly became my new favorite sound, "Bella, I was only joking, you look terrified!" he laughed some more and placed his arm around my shoulders pulling me to him. My breathing slowed as I found comfort in his embrace, "How about twenty questions?" he suggested.

"That sounds a lot better," I said, relieved.

"What's your favorite color?" he went first.

"I have two actually, red," I hesitated, "and green," because it was the color of his eyes, but I kept that to myself.

"Really?" he snorted, "Red and green?"

"Yes," I retorted, "What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing, angel," he responded. He had taken to calling me angel, and even though I was far from one, I had taken to it as well, he said it so sweetly.

"Now it's my turn," I grinned, "What is _your_ favorite color?"

"You're supposed to ask me a different question," I pouted my lip; I really wanted to hear his answer, "Oh, fine then," Edward gave in, "It's brown,"

"And why is that?" I asked, smiling.

"You should know, it's the color of your beautiful eyes and silken hair, angel," he answered as he pressed his lips into my temple, planting a kiss there. I shivered at the feeling his cool breath left on my skin, "Are you cold?" I hadn't even noticed before that I had my arms wrapped tightly around my torso with my hands tucked in my sleeves.

"Just a bit," I answered. He stood and tore off limbs that stuck out of our tree, easily breaking them in half and forming a small pile in front of me. He pulled a small silver lighter from his pocket, kneeling down as he let the flame jump to the broken limbs.

"That should warm you up," he said as he resumed his place beside me.

"Thank you, Edward. I didn't even realize how cold I was."

He smiled slightly, "It's no problem, an angel should ever be cold. Shall we continue our game?"

"Sure," I smiled.

We continued going back and forth asking and answering each others questions. He never asked me about my past and I never questioned him about his. It was almost like we had come to an unspoken understanding.

That was until he asked a question that I never saw coming, "If you could have one wish that was one-hundred percent sure to come true, what would you wish for?"

"I would wish that my mother could come back to us," I answered, "She was murdered almost four weeks ago."

"Bella," Edward said softly. I looked up at him; the look on his face said everything. He pulled me tightly to him and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"What would you wish for Edward?" I asked.

"I would wish that your mother could come back for you," he answered, still holding on to me.

A tear fell down my cheek, "Thank you," I whispered to him. His answer meant so much to me. Edward was so different from anyone I had ever met. He was making me feel hopeful again, bringing me to life. After my mother's death, I didn't think I could ever feel like this again. And after only knowing him for a week, Edward had given me so much more than happiness.

"Well it's getting kind of late, angel. I think we should head back," I looked at my phone, it was eleven o'clock. I didn't want to leave; here on the cliff this was my escape, I didn't want to go back to reality. Here with Edward, this is what I wanted to be reality. He looked down at me, "We'll come back soon, don't you worry. I told you we have forever," he said, comforting me. I grabbed our bag of forgotten food and turned to find Edward holding his arms out to me, I raised my eyebrows in question. He sighed and moved towards me, scooping my feet from underneath me with one arm and catching my back with the other, "I got your back," he laughed as he carried me through the forest once again. He opened the car door for me as he set me down; I slid in the car and buckled my seat belt as Edward got into the driver's seat. He smiled and brushed his fingers against my cheek, causing me to smile in return.

Our ride was mostly silent as Edward navigated the dark streets back to my house, I would glance over at him and he always looked as if he were lost in his own thoughts, I didn't want to interrupt him. He pulled down my driveway as I mentally prepared to tell him goodbye for the night, I didn't want to. He shifted the car into park and looked over to me, I moved to open the door but he stopped me. He got out, walked around to my side and opened my door for me, at least to Edward, chivalry wasn't dead, "Thank you," I said as I stepped out and grasped his hand that he offered to me.

"My pleasure, angel," he responded. He walked me to my porch, where we stood gazing at each other for an unknown amount of time.

"I had a great time tonight," I broke the silence.

"As did I, Bella," he returned. He reached and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, leaving his hand lingering on the side of my face, I leaned into it. He stepped closer to me, pausing to look into my eyes with that same questioning stare. If he was going to do what I was hoping he was, I was all for it. _Yes, Edward, I want you to kiss me,_ I thought. He smiled and slowly leaned his face to mine.

"Where in the hell have you been?" The spell broke as Charlie threw opened the door and leaned against the frame. He reeked of alcohol, the stench burned my nose.

"I was just out with Edward, Dad," I tried to explain.

"W-who the fuck is Edward?" he asked loudly, slurring his words. I was mortified. Before I could say anything, Edward spoke up.

"I am, sir," his voice was completely calm and collected; "My name is Edward Cullen. I'm sorry I didn't get to introduce myself before," his face a mask of total politeness. He placed his hand out in an offer to shake Charlie's, but he refused.

"Oh, you're sorry, are you?" Charlie said angrily, stepping between Edward and me.

"Sir, I meant no disrespect," Edward stated firmly.

"Bella, get inside the damn house. And you," he said, putting his hands firmly on Edward's chest, trying to push him, but Edward didn't budge, "stay the fuck away from my daughter."

"Dad!" I yelled, embarrassed and scared, "Stop it, now!" He removed his hands from Edward and started moving inside, pulling me along with him, "I'm so sorry Edward!" I called as the front door shut.

"Isabella," Charlie said, turning to face me, "that boy could have taken you away from me."

"Dad, Edward isn't taking me anywhere, what are you talking about?"

"How can you be out with someone after all that has happened?" he wasn't making any sense. He should want me to be moving on and continuing my life, Edward was helping me do that.

"He just makes me happy, Dad. He's making me feel better; don't you want that for me? Edward's helping me forget what happened," I pleaded.

"Forget?" he spat, "Why would you want to do that? How could you want to forget your mother!" he shouted. He didn't understand what I was trying to tell him.

"I don't want to forget mom. I just want to forget what happened to her. I'm tired of seeing her die over and over again," Why couldn't he comprehend that? "But you seem to want to forget her, you've been drinking so much lately," I added sadly.

"Don't you speak to me like that," he moved closer to me and waved his finger in my face, "your mother wouldn't like it at all," his alcoholic odor was making me gag.

"No," I said forcefully, "What Mom wouldn't like is you drinking yourself into oblivion every night!" his hand shot out and connected with my face before I could even register what was going on; the force of it knocked me to the ground. My face stung as the tears fell upon the reddened, tender skin. Charlie looked down at me with pure anger in his eyes. Flashbacks of me being thrown to the ground and bound to the bed clouded my thoughts and vision.

"Do not dare speak to me like that ever again, I am your father!" he shouted so loud it hurt my ears.

"Well from where I'm standing you don't look like much of one," a cold voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Edward standing there, relief and fear washed over me. Relief because Edward was still here and he hopefully wouldn't leave me, fear because his whole demeanor was one of absolute rage. His narrowed eyes were intensely locked on my father, his jaw was set tight. He stood with his shoulders back, and his muscles flexed. He looked so threatening, I feared for what he would do to my father.

Charlie seemed to sober up at Edward's reappearance, "Oh my God," he said in a low voice, "Bella, I am so sorry," he moved down to me, reaching to help me up.

I flinched as he grasped my arm, "Please, don't touch me," I asserted. He rose to his feet and slowly retreated from me, rubbing his eyes.

Edward kneeled down, sweeping me up into his arms and placing me upright, "Is there anywhere else you can stay?" he whispered so low that only I could hear.

"Dad, I'm going to stay with Alice," I stated plainly.

"Would you like me to drive you?" he asked. There was no way I would get in a vehicle with him; it was ridiculous for him to even suggest it.

"That won't be necessary," Edward responded, "I will drive her myself," I didn't object even though I was perfectly capable of driving on my own, I would take any time that Edward offered to spend with me, "Bella, why don't you go pack some clothes?" Edward asked quietly. I flew up the stairs to my room. I dumped the books out of my book bag and replaced them with an outfit of clothes and some pajamas. As I was moving to the bathroom, I heard a heavy thud downstairs. I crept down the stairs to see Edward picking my father up off of the floor and trying to sit him upright in a chair.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I said as I entered the kitchen.

"Your dad just fell out of his chair, uh, I put him back," he said nervously. I looked to Charlie and he nodded, "Are you all packed?" Edward asked.

"I just have to grab my toothbrush," I ran back upstairs and grabbed my toothbrush and bag. I returned to the kitchen to see my dad standing at the sink, pouring a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey down the drain. Beside him on the counter were also two bottles of vodka and three cases of beer. The amount of alcohol he had surprised and hurt me.

"I'm leaving, Dad," I spoke up.

"Bella," he said, leaving the bottle in the sink and moving to wrap his arms around me, "I've messed up so badly, I'm so sorry. It will never happen again, darling. I'm getting rid of all the alcohol, I promise. How is your face, baby girl?" I turned my cheek to show him the red mark that stood out against my pale skin. He covered his mouth with his hand and clenched his eyes shut. When he opened them I could see tears forming, "I can't believe I hurt my baby. What would Renee think of me?"

I hugged him once again as tears fell from my eyes, "It's going to be all right, Daddy," I tried to comfort him, "Everything will be okay. I'm not going anywhere," I heard Edward shuffle and clear his throat behind me. I looked to him, he looked upset.

"Do you still want to go to Alice's?" he inquired.

I looked to my father, "Go ahead, sweetie," I smiled at him as we turned to leave.

"Oh, Edward?" he called.

"Yes, sir?" Edward answered.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Edward finished as he shut the door.

"Do you think you should call Alice, let her know you're coming over?" Edward suggested.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and punched in Alice's number, it barely rang one time before she answered it, "What did Edward do to you, Bella? Where are you at? I'll be there in no time. I swear I will rip him limb from-"

"Alice," she continued talking, "Alice!" that shut her up, "Edward has done nothing wrong, but can I come stay at your house tonight? Charlie and I got in a fight, it's a long story. I'll explain when I get there," I finally spoke.

"Oh," she said with a disappointed tone, "Of course you can stay here. Do you need me to come get you?"

"No, Edward's bringing me," I answered. He started the car and pulled onto the rode, following the directions I was giving him.

"Oh, um, ok," she said as she hung up. I pointed out the almost invisible drive way that would lead us to the Masen house. When the house came in view, I saw Edward's jaw drop, much like mine did the first time I saw their home. It was a magnificent white, three-story, Victorian-style mansion, with a wrap around porch and large windows, a picture-perfect house. Edward helped me out of his car and grabbed my bag for me. He followed me to the door and waited with me as I rang the doorbell.

Alice opened the door and immediately smothered me in a hug. She released me and looked behind me, "Edward," he greeted him coldly. I still didn't understand her animosity to him.

"It's nice to see you, Alice," he said politely, at least he could play nice.

"Bella!" I heard a voice ring out from behind Alice. I looked to see Alice's mother holding a vase of flowers, "Come in, come in!" I entered the house and Edward followed behind. Alice's mother and father were standing together, "It's so good to see you again," her father said.

"It's nice to see you all as well," I responded. Edward stepped beside me and everyone in the room grew tense.

"Bella," her father spoke, "Who's your friend here?"

"Carlisle, Esme," I said, "This is Edward Cullen," I turned to Edward, "This is Carlisle and Esme Masen, Alice's parents," Edward froze; he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"What's your name?" Carlisle asked hesitantly.

"Ed-Edward Anthony C-Cullen," he stuttered. Carlisle gasped, and Esme dropped the vase she was holding, sending shards of glass everywhere.

**Expect a different POV next week! Thank you so much for reading! As always, let me know what you think by leaving a review, I love getting your feedback!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight, **_**I'm just messing with her characters.**

_No one knows what it's like To be hated To be fated To telling only lies But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free _

_Behind Blue Eyes-_ The Who

May 18, 1956. Ten o'clock p.m., an eighteen-year-old high school graduate leaves a graduation party thrown in her honor to walk home. Light posts line the street, but all are burned out, leaving darkness as her only company. Even the moon isn't making an appearance; it's hidden by the clouds. She grips her handbag closer to her and continues her walk, telling herself only two more blocks and she will be home safe. She passes a wooded patch of the neighborhood, she picks up her pace. Sweat beads on her brow and the hair at the nape of her neck stands on end.

A man steps in front of her, blocking her path. She jumps back and tries to turn the other way, he moves to block her again, he's very fast. She looks at his face and finds that she recognizes him.

"Hello, Demetri," she says surprised, and relieved.

"Would you like me to walk you home? It is awfully dark out here," he offers, she accepts. She had been out with this boy before, he was a perfect gentleman. She places her hand in the one that he extends to her.

Her family and friends held a funeral for an empty casket, they told stories, and shared one another's sorrow for the lost girl, never seen again after that night.

I watched on as they did this.

I, Alice Brandon, watched as my family lowered a casket that should have contained my body into the ground. They had given up hope of finding me. I saw their tears, heard their words, and felt my loved one's sorrow, but I could do nothing about it. I had never felt as helpless as I did in that moment. Not even as Demetri pulled me into the forest and crushed my left arm and leg, or as he dragged my limp, defenseless, but still conscious body over the rough, uneven ground did I feel as if I didn't have hope. Knowing that I could never see or speak to my family again, never give them the peace they deserved, that was when I truly felt broken. But with this brokenness came a resolve, if I couldn't give my loved ones peace, I would damn well find it for myself, and I would make something of the new life forced upon me. I would destroy the one who destroyed me and do my best to make sure this never happened to anyone else.

Demetri wanted me for his own; he told me this as he bit me.

Demetri told me he loved me, constantly said that I was everything to him. For a while, I believed him. I stuck by his side, hunted with him, slept with him, and cared for him, but it didn't last. Demetri always wanted excitement and I wore out as the new, shiny toy. He would leave for months at a time, but always expect me to be there waiting on him when he returned. I used my vision to keep up with his arrivals and departures, and in his absence I lived my life as I wished. I gave up feeding on humans and found that drinking the blood of animals was just as satisfying, if not more, for me.

I never told Demetri of my ability to see the future, I felt like it was the only thing I owned that was solely mine, no one could take it from me. So I used it to my advantage, Demetri had lately been coming home with the scent of other females and humans covering him. I was breaking the promise that I had made to myself, I vowed I would never let anyone be faced with what I had to go through, and here I was letting Demetri leave and return with the stench of his kills and wickedness filling our house.

After one year of putting up with his bullshit, I put an end to it, I found my peace. I saw that Demetri would return on the anniversary of his biting me, and I concocted my plan. The anniversary came upon us, and I heard him enter the back door of our house, I waited in the bedroom, "Where's my beautiful piece of ass?" he called.

"I'm in the bedroom, Metri," I answered sweetly. He crossed into the bedroom and I watched as his jaw dropped. I had put on my sexiest black lingerie and was perched in the center of our bed waiting for him, "This is such a pleasant surprise, my love. You must have remembered what day it was," I said nothing as he shed his clothing and moved to the center of the bed with me. He gripped his hand through my hair and pulled my face to the side allowing him access to my neck where he nibbled and kissed his way to the top off my breasts. He began to unzip the delicate corset that covered my body when I stilled his hand, "This night is for you, big boy. After all you are the reason I'm here," I said lovingly. I slammed my lips to his, and heard him groan as I moved my mouth down to his neck; I opened my mouth and sunk my teeth deep into the pale flesh there.

"What? What are you doing?" Demetri yelped.

I removed my mouth from the incision that my teeth had carved and placed my hands in the gash, widening it, "I'm getting my revenge, after all you are the reason I'm here," I repeated this time with anger and hatred in my voice. His attempts to throw me off of him were useless as I pried his head from his body. I was wild with freedom; I soaked it in as I threw his head and body out the window and jumped to the ground below me with my matches already out.

I lit the bastard on fire and ran.

I ran for weeks, crossing state line after state line, searching for a place that was popping up more frequently in my visions. I cleared the United States ten times, sprinting from coast to coast until I finally found my destination.

Forks was the last place I expected I would settle down in, but it turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I found the Masen family as I was hunting one day. I watched from a treetop as I saw each of them take down a deer on the ground below me. I stepped off of my limb and landed lithely in the middle of their feeding circle. They all looked in my direction and grew defensive. They moved to join each other in a group. I took in each of the five vampire's eyes and saw that they were, as mine, golden-brown. A smile broke across my face as I stepped towards the group with my hand extended in their direction, "My name is Alice Brandon," I said cheerfully, "I know I sound crazy but I can see the future and you guys are it!"

The blonde man at the head of the group spoke first, "I am Carlisle Masen, patriarch of this family," he said motioning to the vampires that stood by him, "Would you like to come to our home?"

I nodded my head in agreement and followed the Masens to their home. I felt pure happiness as the house that I had seen so many times in my head solidified and became a real place with a real family. I shared my story with them. They found it astonishing that I had already switched to the blood of animals after only being a vampire for such a short period of time. I was introduced to each member of the family and given a shortened version of their history, Carlisle and Esme, the parental figures, where turned together in 1918, they had a son, but could not remember much other than that from their human life. Masen isn't even their real last name, they awoke with their vampire life in the basement of a hospital; Carlisle found a piece of paper in his pocket stating what his wife and he had become and the word _Masen._ Their son was never mentioned, they never knew what became of him. They never spoke his name, but told me he had Esme's green eyes and bronze hair color, but had Carlisle's gentle and compassionate personality. I could tell that he was greatly missed.

I learned that each of the _children_, as Esme termed them, were found with death eminent and changed by Carlisle who opened his home to them. Jasper was first. He was turned in 1920, Carlisle found him in a ditch on a remote stretch of highway not far from their house, he was robbed and his car had been stolen, he was left to die with stab wounds to the chest. In 1945, Emmett was hunting elk with a friend when his friend's gun malfunctioned leaving Emmett with a mortal gun shot wound, his friend ran off too afraid of being caught. Carlisle caught the scent of human blood while hunting and found Emmett in the nick of time. And there was Rosalie who's father was a drunk who decided to take his repressed anger out on her and her mother by beating them. In 1950, her mother died, and Rosalie ran away, only to have her father find her two miles down the road and beat her once again, this time she couldn't get away, Carlisle found her and saved her. They all shared a passion to not be what they had become, they all fought against the vampire nature within them.

All of their human lives had grim endings, but now they had found happiness beyond belief, and I was able to be a part of it. In 1960, I watched as Rosalie and Emmett were married by Carlisle in our backyard. Two years later, Jasper and I were married in the same place; I had fallen so deeply in love with him. He was everything that I could hope for, everything that Demetri could have never dreamed of being.

My visions slacked off, I would only get them about once every three months, they were glimpses of our next feeding or a new gift that Jasper wanted to surprise me with, nothing too important. I went for years without seeing the future at all until 2007 when a human began revealing herself to me through visions.

She had long brown hair that fell close to her waist, and deep chocolate brown eyes; she was around five foot three inches and had a thin body, she was nothing too spectacular, she was common. She was standing by an old red truck at the local high school, looking confused and afraid. This was the first vision I had of her. It confused me; I went to Carlisle asking him if he knew anything of the girl, he explained that her father was the new Chief of Police and that they had just moved here from Phoenix, Arizona. The young girl's name was Isabella Swan. She would begin at Forks High School in two weeks.

My next vision of her gave me the answers that I needed to know. She was at school once again, but I was there also, I was trying to persuade her to come shopping with me. She was being stubborn, saying that even though I was her best friend, shopping just wasn't her thing. _Best friend, _two words that I hung on to, this human was to be my best friend, I was ecstatic. I enrolled in Forks High School that day, and the rest is history. Bella had really become my best friend, her blood never bothered me and she never saw me as anything other than a human being. Of course, I had the blue contacts to cover the gold of my eyes. I always wore clothes that covered my arms and legs, and I carried pocket-sized hand warmers around with me. She never felt the difference of skin temperatures between her and me.

My visions of Bella were always happy ones, her smile when I gave her a gift, her excellent grades on her report card, small things that were important to her.

Then her mother was murdered, and I lost any vision of her future, it was just blank. I didn't forsee the attack that left Bella motherless, and I was devastated when I heard what happened. I was determined to help pick up her pieces. Jacob and I, although we never saw eye-to-eye, agreed that we would be there for Bella no matter what. We tried our hardest to make her happy, but I could tell that she was truly broken inside; nothing we were doing could fix that.

And then Edward graced us with his presence and everything changed. My visions turned from blank to black, her mother's murder case was closed, and Bella was smiling and joking again, but only with Edward.

To me, he was a stranger, I didn't trust him. He obviously drank from humans, and his sudden arrival and interest in Bella sent off alarms in my head. It was like Demetri and me all over again, and I would not allow what happened to me to happen to Bella. I stuck close to them, listening to everything he would say to her, and it all seemed innocent enough, but that only put me more on edge. When he asked her on a date I knew I had to figure him out, I couldn't let her go off with him.

He proved to be an asshole just as expected, but he had only been that way with me, he claimed that Bella was tired of being treated like a child, and that I should leave her alone. He seemed to have some kind of feelings for her, and she was actually happy for the first time in awhile. So I allowed the date to happen, and I backed off.

When she called me I panicked, I just knew something was wrong and that Edward had screwed up. Well, I was right about one part, something was wrong but Edward was not the cause of it, he actually prevented anything else from happening. The red mark that was beginning to bruise on Bella's face surprised me, I couldn't believe that Charlie would actually strike his daughter; I was only focusing on Bella when Esme dropped the vase. I glanced between Carlisle, Esme and Edward; their expressions were of complete shock.

"Uh, um, yeah," Edward was stammering, "You're safe now, Bella, right?" she nodded. I could tell she was highly confused, I was as well, "Well, I'm going to leave, I should be getting home. I'll see you on Monday," he said quickly and leaned in to kiss her cheek. Her heart beat fluttered and she smiled as he left.

"Alice, will you please show Bella to her room and get her settled?" Carlisle asked quietly. I took Bella's bag and grabbed her hand leading her up the stairs to the third floor guest room.

"What's going on?" she questioned. I honestly had no answer. I just shrugged my shoulders in response, "Well do you mind if I take a shower? I feel gross."

"No, go ahead, Bella. Does your head or cheek hurt? I can get some Tylenol," I was trying to play a good hostess and best friend but I was really curious as to what was going on downstairs, I had heard Carlisle and Esme exit the house.

"It's nothing a hot shower can't fix," Bella said as she closed the door to the bathroom. I listened for the shower to come on and I flew down the stairs and out the front door.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I hit the porch. Esme was clinging to Edward, and he was holding her just as tightly, Carlisle stood to the side with his arm wrapped around Edward's shoulder, "I can't believe its really you," Esme was sobbing, but no tears fell from her eyes. Realization was beginning to hit me.

"Where have you been, my son?" Carlisle patted him on the shoulder. Edward is their son, the precious son that they had lost so many years ago. He had found them, they had found him, and they were a family again.

"It's him, right?" I asked from my spot on the porch. They turned their attention to me; I don't think they even noticed that I had been standing here.

"This is my baby!" Esme exclaimed, her smile could light up the darkened forest, and Carlisle was beaming just as brightly. Edward hugged them both tightly once more, and looked to me.

"I've found my parents, Alice," he stated, and it was as if he were a little boy, gazing into the faces of his parents like they were the greatest superheroes ever. All of the animosity that I held for him dissipated in that moment, he really was just a kid, like me. We may have existed on this planet for a long time, but we were still teenagers, as we would always be, we were frozen in our youth. I heard Bella turn the water off in the shower and I excused myself from their company.

I stepped into Bella's room just as she was about to leave, "I was just about to come find you," she said as I blocked her path.

"You found me!" I said, I shut the door behind me and moved to sit on the bed. Bella joined me.

"So, did you find out why your parents acted so weird when they met Edward?" she wanted an explanation to something that I couldn't explain to her, I had to think fast.

"Apparently he's the son of some friend's that they used to know. They hadn't heard from him in awhile and were surprised to find that he was in the area," that wasn't too far from the truth.

"Oh, that's cool," Bella yawned, "Edward should invite his parents over, oh and James. I'm sure Carlisle and Esme would love to reconnect with them." I smiled politely, there wasn't much I could say, "Well, I guess I'm going to sleep now," she said as she slid under the comforter of her bed, "Thanks for letting me stay here Alice, and will you pass along the thanks to Carlisle and Esme?"

"Sure thing, Bella," I said as I exited her room. I stood outside the door until I could tell that she had fallen asleep, then I tiptoed into my room, I found Jasper lying on the bed watching a movie, "What's been all the commotion, honey?" he questioned as I snuggled next to him.

"You know those vampires that I told you about? The two that just out of no where show up at Forks?" he nodded, "Edward, the one who took an interest in Bella, is Carlisle and Esme's son, their real son."

"Are they sure?" Jasper questioned skeptically.

"He matched their description perfectly, Jazz. They're positive it's him," I answered.

"Well, it really is a small world," he said with a smile, "What about James? What role does he play in all this?" That was a mystery to me, James really had no piece of the puzzle that I was trying to figure out, he was just there. Being in his presence was unsettling, Bella pegged it as having new student jitters, but I knew better than that. He had an almost sinister presence about him. He is a vampire and we all carry that intimidating demeanor with us, but he just seemed to be… evil. Even Edward tended to shy away from him.

"Now, that I am still trying to figure out, but I don't trust him, Jazz, at all. There is nothing…good about him," I tried to find the right words to describe him.

"We'll figure it all out, doll," Jasper comforted me, "Should I go meet this Edward? After all, he is our brother," I hadn't thought of it that way. Would Edward want to come live in our house? How would we explain that to Bella? There were too many questions that needed to be answered. How had our lives become so twisted upside down in such short amount of time?

"I think he has already left, dear, maybe tomorrow. Right now, I really just want to be with you, my love," I said as my lips found his neck.

"Anything for you, darling," he sighed as he pulled me to him.

**Wow, this chapter was tough to write. I didn't want Alice's history to go on too long but I kind of got carried away, if you have any questions or if anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask. Let me know what you think, leave a review! Thank you so much for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So sorry, it's a day late, I was out of town visiting my boyfriend and I didn't have anytime to write. Hopefully you all aren't too mad at me. Haha. Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight,**_** I'm just messing with her characters.**

_All alone I pierce the chain_

_And on and on the sting remains_

_And dying eyes consume me now_

_The voice inside screams out loud_

_I am focused on what I am after _

_The key to the next open chapter_

_Cause I've found a way to steal the sun from the sky_

_Long live the day that I decided to fly from the inside_

_Fly from the Inside- _Shinedown

**EPOV**

It's funny how things work out. How every choice you make leads you to find something else, and faces you with different consequences. You can't rewind and change your mind; you're stuck with what you decide.

I may live for thousands of years, but I'll never be able to undo the choices that have led me to where I am now, and for that, I am intensely grateful. Choosing to leave Bella alive, lead me to be able to know her, asking her out lead me to fall for her, and choosing to stay after her father shut me out lead me here.

My parents are standing in front of me, after ninety one years of knowing nothing about them, here they are. We're smiling and I'm clinging to my mother like a five year old child on his first day of grade school, I can't let go. My father is standing with one arm around my shoulder and the other around my mother. We're lost in this extraordinary moment of reunion when I hear Alice's small voice from the porch, "It's him, right?"

"This is my baby!" my mother smiles, she is beautiful.

"I've found my parents, Alice," I say proudly. She looks at me and smiles, a real smile, and then slips silently back into the house.

My mother loosens her grip on me and looks up at me, "Edward, your eyes, they're red," I understand why she's upset and, the sad thing is that she doesn't know that killing is my job.

"Mom, it's all I've known, I didn't know there was another way," I tried to explain.

"I don't blame you, darling, but you're with us now. If you'd like we can help you adopt our ways," My mother's face was lit with hope and excitement, I looked to my father, his expression mirroring my mother's.

"Mom-" I began but I was cut off by my phone vibrating in my pocket, only one person ever called me. Reality reared its ugly head, _Aro_, reared his ugly head, "I'm sorry. I _have _to answer this," They nodded and I reluctantly walked away from them.

"Yes, sir?" I answered.

"Cullen, where in the hell are you?" he snapped.

"Just dropping off Isabella Swan, sir," I lied.

"Ah yes, that's just lovely, but I need you bring us food home. I'm feeling rather parched," he laughed. I looked up to see my parents staring my way; I turned away from them, and continued the conversation, hoping that they could not hear.

"How many?" I ground my teeth together.

"Oh, I'd say about six, unless you'd like to partake," six people would die tonight. I thought of the woman that I drank from this afternoon, I felt sick.

"No thanks," I said as I hung up the phone. I walked back over to my parents and they looked at me expectantly, "Mom, Dad, I have to go," I said softly.

"But, son, we just got you back," my father started.

I cut him off, "I'll come back," _I hope_, "when I can," I added. I offered them no more than that, I couldn't make any promises.

I wrapped my arms around my parents and pulled them tightly to me once more, "We love you, son," my father said. If he knew what I was about to do, and have been doing for the past ninety years, he wouldn't be saying that.

"Come back to us soon, my dear," my mother whispered.

I love you was all I said as I turned my back to them and walked to my car. I sped to the complex and grabbed my robe. Before I could make it back outside I heard Aro's voice over the speaker, "Cullen, my office, now."

_Mother-fucking-son-of-a-bitch! _"What do you want?" I spat.

"Some respect to begin with," he said angrily. I wasn't relenting, "I need twelve, take James along with you," now twelve innocent people had to die tonight, I was tired of this.

I knocked on James' door, "Have you banged Bella yet?" he said as he threw open the door. He was smirking.

"You're a disgusting fucker, you know?" I didn't like him talking about Bella like that, she was too good.

He laughed, "Yeah, yeah, I've been told before. Anyway, what can I do you for, Cullen?"

"We have to go get twelve," I explained.

"Fuck me, twelve? Is Aro throwing a party that we aren't invited to?

"Hell if I know, grab your robe, lets go," I just wanted to get this over with.

"These things are fucking ridiculous," James said as he slid his robe over his shoulders, I couldn't agree more, "So, where do you want to go?" he questioned.

I looked down at my watch; it was one o'clock, "Port Angeles, taverns and bars."

We set off running toward Port Angeles, sticking to the shadowed forest line. I found an alleyway between two bars and signaled James to follow behind me. A man and a woman stumbled into our alley, oblivious to us. The man pushed the woman against the wall and crushed his lips to hers, the woman moaned loudly, "I bet Bella would make noises like that," James said jabbing his elbow into my ribs.

"Shut up," I growled as a warning.

"Listen man," he continued anyway, "I'm just saying that if I was you, I'd fuck her before she was handed over to Aro, get some fun out of her. Her blood smells _amazing_, I could have taken her the first moment I saw her. I don't know how you've stopped yourself; I bet she's got a really tight-"

I gripped his throat tightly with my hand and slammed his head into the wall behind us, causing the bricks to break and crumble to the ground, "Do notfucking speak about Bella, you sick, demented son-of-a-bitch! I will tear your carcass apart," I seethed; anger was all I knew in that moment. Jealous hatred was a new emotion to me, and quite possibly the strongest one I had ever felt. I didn't want to imagine anyone getting close to Bella, hurting her. I felt possessive and protective of her, she was mine, but at the same time I couldn't keep her, Aro wanted her. I was stuck.

I released James from my grasp and tried to focus on what I was sent here to do, "You have feelings for her, don't you?" he laughed mockingly. I said nothing, "Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever, its not too often that a lion falls in love with a lamb. Aro is going to love hearing about this."

"You can't tell Aro," I snapped.

"Oh, we'll just see," James winked.

"Hey fuckers!" the man in the alley called out, "We're trying to have some privacy here!"

"Let's just do what we are supposed to do," I said as I placed a control over the man and woman, rendering them paralyzed and dropping them to the ground. I picked up their ankles and slung their limp bodies over my shoulder. We returned to the wood line and dropped the bodies, beginning our pile. We continued this until we reached the quota that Aro requested. James said nothing more about Bella while we worked to bring in the twelve humans. His silence was making me worried and anxious.

With each of us carrying six bodies, all under my control, we raced back to the complex, I won.

We entered Aro's room and brought the bodies to lie at his feet.

"Well done, my boys," I didn't like Aro calling me his "boy," I didn't want to be his, I wasn't his; I have a mother and a father. I turned to leave when Aro stopped me, "Edward, I want you to stay and feast with us, you deserve it, my boy," This was the last place I wanted to be, and the last thing I wanted to do, but Aro's orders were to be obeyed. He motioned for us to pull chairs around the pile of bodies. I still kept my control over them, Aro liked them better this way, "It's so nice to be able to sit down to a meal with my favorite children," Aro said as he pulled his own chair forward. He pulled out a marker and wrote numbers on the foreheads of the people. I looked at him questioningly, but he offered nothing.

James smiled, "Thank you for sharing with us, sir. It is very gracious of you."

Aro looked to me as if he were expecting a compliment from me as well, I gave none. I simply stared back into the eyes of the creature that ruined me, "Well I would like to try something new," Aro began, "Dinner and a show," he laughed, "Edward, please release these people."

"Do what?"

"Edward, do you know what happens when you continuously feed a caged lion dead meat?" he didn't wait for a response, "The lion grows lazy, bored with having no challenge, it weakens, and loses its predatory sharpness," he fixed his gaze onto me, "We can't have that happen, no one that belongs to me can lose their edge. If they do there are consequences to be paid," I knew he was speaking about me, but I didn't know how he knew about my slacking. I looked to James who was smiling smugly. It hit me then, the amount of animosity I had for him swelled, I wanted to jump over the bodies and tear him limb from limb. I ground my teeth together, fighting back words that were threatening to explode from my mouth, "Edward, let these people go," he said sternly, "Now!"

Defeated, I let my control go. We watched as the limp bodies awoke. They moved groggily and groaned, trying to get a sense of what happened to them and where they were. Confusion masked all of their faces as they took in our forms sitting around them, "People," Aro bellowed, all attention was placed on him, "You will be given one minute to find a place to hide throughout this complex. There are six stories to our little home here," he motioned toward James and me, "we are currently on the sixth floor. There is the door. After your allotted minute, my boys and I will hunt you down," he kept up a cheerful voice, "The last person to be found will be given immortality and join the ranks of my powerful coven of vampires. Your minute begins now," the group looked around at us with terrified expressions, "You're time is wasting, tick, tock, tick, tock," Aro finished. The group scrambled to their feet and ran to the door, fighting each other over who would get out first. They were crying and screaming as they ran down the stairs and began searching for hiding places. Several were trying the find doors that would lead them to freedom, but of course they were inescapable. After a minute, Aro spoke over the loud speaker, "A minute is over, we're coming," I could hear shuffles and sobs throughout the whole building, "Its time to let the lions out of the cage, my boys," he said as we stood and exited the door. Aro and James found the first ten people within seconds, draining them completely. There were only two left, "Edward, the next one is yours," Aro said as he and James caught up to me. I ran down to the fourth floor, and noticed that the door to my room was slightly cracked. I entered and immediately smelled human. I turned to my left and saw a woman cowered behind my door, her legs drawn up to her chest and her head tucked to her knees. She looked up at me as I moved in front of her, "Edward? Edward Cullen?" she cried.

I examined the woman closer, "Mrs. Smith?" she was the history teacher at Forks; I crouched in front of her as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Why?" she said softly.

"Life sucks," I answered as I swiftly sunk my teeth into her neck and drank from her. Her blood tasted delicious, but it felt so wrong to be drinking from her, I was repulsed by myself.

"Nice job, Edward," Aro said from my doorway, "We've found our keeper, he was hiding in Arabella," I looked to the man standing behind James, it was the first man that we came across in the alley, "James, you and our winner clean up and dispose of the bodies, I need to talk to Edward alone," he motioned for me to follow him.

"Are you fully satiated?" he questioned as we returned to our seats we had taken earlier. I nodded, "Good, I'd like to talk to you about the current objective I've given you."

"Yes, sir," I said uncertainly.

"We have something coming up very soon, a battle of sorts. You see, a coven of vampires want some items that I have, items that I am not willing to give up. We're all going to fight for this, myself, and all of my children will band together to make sure that what is mine, stays mine. This is the reason for our game, I need two more people to fight with us, we have gotten our first one tonight, and you will bring us our second, Edward," a knot formed in my stomach. I was praying that he would say any name other the one that was being flashed in my head, "Today is Sunday, I want Isabella Swan by Wednesday."

I wasn't going to let that happen.

**Thank you all for reading! From here until the end of the story I think I'm going to keep it in Bella's point of view, I have about three to five chapters left, I haven't completely decided. Leave a review telling me what you think, I'd love to know.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight,**_** I'm just messing with her characters.**

_I'm falling apart againAnd I can't find a way to make amendsAnd I'm looking in both directionsBut it's make believe, it's all pretendSo...Shed some light on meAnd hold me up in disbeliefAnd shed some light on meAnd tell me something that I'll believe in_

_Shed Some Light-_ Shinedown

**BPOV**

"Hey, Momma!" I say as she sits beside me. We are in a huge meadow filled with every type and color of wildflower, it's beautiful.

"Bellie, how have you been? I've missed you so much," my mother's eyes are full of tears as she pulls me into her arms.

I hug her as tightly as I can, tears escaping my eyes as well, "I've missed you too, Momma. I love you." I hear a cough behind me, it's Edward. He sits down and hooks his arm around my waist.

"And who is this, Bellie?" my mother asks smiling.

"Momma, this is Edward," I look to him as he reaches out for my mother's hand and brings it to his lips. My mother gives me a look of approval as she takes in Edward.

I am beaming as I turn back to Edward, my eyes rise to his. They are no longer green.

They are blood red.

He pulls my mother's body against his harshly, and moves the hair covering her neck, "You're next," he growls as he tears his teeth into my mother's flesh. My mother screams, and try to get to her, but I can not move. I close my eyes and try to block out the sight of my mother dying once again. When I open them, everything is dark. I'm surrounded by a warm softness. It takes me a few minutes to remember where I am. My head is throbbing. I need medicine.

I move slowly and get out of bed. On my way to the bathroom, I see light coming from Alice's room. I push open the door, "Hey, Al. Can I talk to you ab-" she isn't alone. Jasper, her brother, is sitting next to her kissing her, and touching her. Alice is topless.

This is beyond weird and disgusting, "Alice?"

Her eyes widen, "Bella!" she says as she pulls the cover over her chest. I back out of her room and shut the door. With my door locked, I crawl back into bed, my headache forgotten. What just happened? Jasper was Alice's brother, well not by blood, they were all adopted, but regardless, he is still her brother. This was too bizarre. Did Carlisle and Esme know? If they did, how could they allow it? They were only seventeen, it didn't make any sense.

There was a soft knock on my door, "Bella, can I please talk to you?" Alice asks. I get up and unlock my door, opening it slowly. Alice is staring at the ground as she enters my room, "Bella," she begins, "I know you're probably very confused by what you saw in there, and I'm very sorry you had to see it. I didn't hear you coming," she continues to look at the floor as she fidgets with the corner of the bedspread. I say nothing, "Listen," she continues, "there are things about my family that you don't know, things that I can't tell you," she won't look at me, "Jasper and I are married, Bella."

Bomb dropped, I am speechless. I've known Alice for two years and she never even told me that she was interested in anyone, or had dated anyone, much less that she was married.

"Maybe one day I'll be able to explain all of this to you more thoroughly, but now I can't. I'm sorry," Alice walks to the door, "Get back to sleep, Bella."

I can't sleep. I keep thinking of what Alice said about her and her family. What other secrets could they possibly have? There are two other siblings in the family, Emmett and Rosalie, I never saw them much. Could they be together as well? I thought that I knew everything about my best friend, apparently that was far from the truth.

At some point during the night sleep overtook me. I awoke to sunlight shining in my eyes, a rarity in Forks. I slipped out of bed and cautiously walked down the hall into the bathroom carrying my toothbrush with me. Fortunately, I didn't cross paths with anyone. Alice's bedroom door was shut, and the rest of the house was silent. I brushed my teeth in peace, and took a quick shower. I tiptoed back to my room with a towel wrapped snuggly around me. After I pulled on my jeans and favorite blue sweater, I went down stairs.

When I hit the second floor, I heard a familiar voice coming from the kitchen, "I thought I'd never see you both again," Edward was here. My heart fluttered and my pulse quickened.

"We're so glad to have you back, my darling," Esme cooed.

"Hey, Edward. What are you doing here?" I said as I entered the kitchen. He was sitting with Carlisle and Esme at the breakfast table; they each had a coffee cup in front of them. I looked at his eyes, they were the same beautiful green, and I was relieved.

"I was just visiting, and I thought that you would need a ride back to your house this morning," he said cheerfully. I smiled in response and took the seat next to Edward at the table. Esme took a sip from her cup and looked to Edward as he brought his cup to his mouth. He took a sip and wrinkled up his nose.

"It takes some getting used to," Esme said giggling at the look on Edward's face.

"I don't like coffee either," I said. They all began laughing. I was confused, I didn't say anything funny.

Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "Are you ready to go home?" I nodded and returned to my room to get my things. There was still no sign of movement from Alice's room, I was grateful for that. I still didn't know what to say to her.

When we arrived at my house, I was surprised to find that Charlie wasn't there, and also happy. I wanted some more alone time with Edward, "Are you coming in?" I asked as I unlocked the door.

"If you would like me to, angel, I will."

"Of course," I said pulling his hand, "Get in here." I dropped my bag at the bottom of the stairs and walked into the kitchen, there was a note from Charlie.

_Isabella,_

_I am going back to church this morning. After church, I am leaving until Saturday. I know this is unexpected, but a trip came up that I cannot refuse, its going to help both of us. I need you to stay at the house to look after it. I know you can take care of yourself. There is two hundred dollars in the cookie jar that you can use for food. If you have an emergency while I am gone call the number at the bottom._

_I love you, baby girl, and when I get back I hope that we can start putting our lives back together and moving on._

"What's wrong?" Edward said as I placed the note back on the table.

"Charlie's leaving until Saturday. Out of no where some trip came up that he says he 'cannot refuse.'"

Edward looked alarmed, "Do you mind if I read the note?" I shook my head no and handed it over to him. He studied it closely, flipping it over and upside down.

"Is there something wrong with it, Edward?"

"Huh?" he said as he was reading over again, "Oh, no, there's nothing wrong, angel," he said easily. It sounded like he was hiding something. He wouldn't have studied it so much if there wasn't something wrong with it, "I promise you nothing is wrong, but would you mind if I stayed here with you? I don't want you here alone for a week," I could tell that he wasn't telling me the whole truth. What could he know about my father that I wouldn't know? And he just asked if he could stay here for a week. With me. Alone.

As much as I wanted to know more about why he was acting this way, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have Edward all to myself for a week, "Sure, you can stay here," I said nonchalantly. He smiled.

"Great, I need to go run this pass my dad real quick, make sure that he is okay with it, and grab some clothes. I'll be back soon," Edward placed his hand under my skin and tilted my face towards his; my heartbeat broke into a sprint as the spark flowed through me. I closed my eyes as his lips kissed my forehead gently. I shivered as his cool breath lingered on my skin. When I opened my eyes he was gone. My house was a cold, unwelcoming mess without Edward in it. I was beginning to think that every place was a cold, unwelcoming mess without Edward in it. If Edward was going to be staying here, the house needed some major TLC. It was embarrassing to me for him to see the way our lives had fallen apart, and as my father had said, we needed to start putting them back together. I folded up my father's note and put it in my pocket; I didn't want to lose it.

Our dish washer was full to the maximum capacity; I couldn't even fit an extra spoon in there. I turned it on and filled up our sink with soapy water. I placed the rest of the dirty dishes in the sink to soak, and turned around to begin cleaning up the counters.

"You know you should lock the door when you're at home alone. Anything could just walk right in," Edward leaned against the door frame with a cup in his hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. I took a mental picture of him, wanting to always remember the way he looked. His smile, his messy hair, his emerald eyes, he was perfection.

"You can put your bag in my room, if you would like," I offered, "I can show you where it is," I said shyly.

Edward gave me his heart stopping crooked smile, setting down his cup on the counter and waved his hand in front of him, "After you, angel."

"You can just drop your stuff here," I said. I turned to face Edward and he is standing right behind me, I bump into him, "Oh I'm sorry." I try to move around him but he won't let me. He puts his hands on my waist and pulls me to him. I'm pressed against his cool body. We're alone. I look into his eyes and melt. We're alone. He kisses my head, and grabs my hand, leading me to my bed. We are so alone.

"I want to do something before it's too late," Edward says, "Bella, before I met you I only knew one way to act, one way to live. You've changed that in so many ways that I can't tell you now, but I am _praying _that one day I can tell you because you should know it," he looked at me as if I am the most precious thing to him. I could feel his emotions in every word he said, he truly meant every word, "If anything happens, I want you to remember me like this, I need you to remember me like this. Bella, I don't _ever _want to hurt you. I don't want to cause you pain, and I don't want to see you suffering," I was bewildered, "I know this doesn't make any sense now, but it might soon. That is why I need you to listen to me, I am always on your side, and I need you to trust me, no matter what happens. Remember this," he lightly squeezed my hand, "and remember this," he placed his hand on my neck and pulled my face to his. My lips touched his briefly and he pulled away but that small moment was more than enough to set off the spark that ignited every cell in my body, I needed this. This new hunger made me bold. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and my lips collided into his. Edward seemed to have the same need, he matched my every move. Passion was a new and unknown feeling to me, but it brought me to life. I pulled his bottom lip into my mouth and ran my tongue across the smooth skin, it was sweet, like vanilla and cotton candy, only a hundred times better. I released his lip and slid my tongue over both of them. He opened his mouth slightly, and I moved into him, wanting to taste him as much as possible.

Edward's teeth grazed over my upper lip and he made a low hissing noise, he pulled away, "My angel, my Bella," he peppered small kisses over my face, on my cheeks, my nose, and at the corner of my mouth. He trailed his lips over my chin and to my neck. He closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. I felt his teeth on my neck and his tongue darted out to taste my skin, "so fucking good," he murmured. His words drove me crazy. He replaced his tongue with his lips as he planted one last kiss on my neck.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced," Edward said as he leaned his forehead against mine. I doubted that, but didn't say anything, "I've never kissed anyone, Bella," How could that even be possible? I found it very hard to believe that Edward, looking the way that he does, had never been kissed, "My past has never allowed it," he said sadly. What kind of past could he have?

"Its okay, Edward. I've never kissed anyone either," I said trying to make him feel better.

He smiled, "I'm glad we're each other's first."

I nodded and we stayed with our heads together, staring into each other's eyes. We were interrupted by my stomach rumbling, "You haven't had anything to eat all day, Bella," Edward said caringly. He pulled me into his arms and carried me down stairs into the kitchen. I got out some things to make sandwiches.

"You want one?" I asked Edward.

"Oh, no. I'm good, I'm all full on Bella," I laughed as Edward smiled.

"Damn it!" The blade of the knife I was using to cut my sandwich sliced my finger.

"What did you do?" Edward asked as he moved toward me.

"I cut my finger," I showed him my finger, blood was dripping down it. Edward froze as he stared at the blood.

"Bella, get away from me," he said coldly. I stood there confused, it was just blood, "I said get the fuck away from me! Are you deaf?" Edward yelled and tears sprang to my eyes. I went over to the sink and washed the cut off. With a paper towel covering the cut, I walked back to Edward.

He had his back to the wall and he was rubbing his eyes with his hands, "Edward?" I said quietly. Two small things fell from his hands, I looked down at them.

Green eye contacts.

I couldn't breathe as I moved my hands to his and pried them from his eyes. My fears were confirmed when I saw that they were just as red as the blood dripping from my finger. I backed away slowly from him as he moved toward me.

"Bella, I am so sorry," I was entranced by his ruby eyes, but terror won over. I began to scream but my legs gave out and I fell to the floor, I couldn't feel them.

"It was you, all along it was you. Why are you doing this to me Edward?" tears blurred my vision.

"I'm so completely sorry, Bella."

I was so lost, all I knew was fear. I wanted the fear gone, I wanted _him _gone, "Get away from me, Edward," I said forcefully.

"Bella, let me talk, it's-"

"I said get the fuck away from me! Are you deaf?" I repeated his words from earlier just as harsh as he had.

"Bella," he said once more.

"Go away!" I yelled to an empty room, he was gone.

I was alone.

**Thank you so much for reading! I can't even put into words how much it means to me that you all read my story and leave reviews, it's just…awesome. So thank you once again, and let me know what you think by leaving a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Stephenie Meyer owns **_**Twilight**_**, I am just messing with the characters. **

**I decided to post this chapter a bit earlier than usual. I finished early and couldn't wait to share it with you all!**

_Caught up in this madness too blind to see Woke animal feelings in me Took over my sense and I lost control I'll taste your blood tonight You know I make you wanna scream You know I make you wanna run from me baby but know it's too late you've wasted all your time. _

_Scream-_ Avenged Sevenfold

**BPOV**

I was alone.

The house is empty, there is no father here to burst in and wake me up. This isn't a nightmare, though I desperately wish it was.

Edward is…not human. I'm not exactly sure what he is. Cold skin, lightening fast speed, immense strength, red eyes, I felt like I was missing one more clue, the last piece of the puzzle that would give me the full picture. I scanned the room from my place on the floor, checking once again to make sure that no was here.

I stood slowly and clutched the knife that I had used earlier tightly in my hand, I wasn't going anywhere without it. I was about to leave the kitchen when something caught my eye, the drink cup that Edward had with him earlier.

With the hand that wasn't gripping my knife, I picked the cup up, it was warm, and half empty. I opened the lid over the sink. The liquid inside was red and thick, the site of it made my stomach churn. I brought the cup to my nose and inhaled. _Bad idea._ I gagged as I dropped the cup into the sink.

It was blood.

Edward drank blood.

The last piece of the puzzle snapped into place, the big picture became clear.

Edward was a vampire.

I needed to talk to someone, make sure that I wasn't going absolutely insane. I tried to tell myself that vampires didn't exist; maybe Edward just has some kind of disease. _A disease that makes you super strong, have red eyes and drink blood? I think not, Bella._

I grabbed the keys to my truck and my knife and headed outside. I turned the key in the ignition; it made an attempt to start, but died. I tried three more times, nothing.

"Don't give up on me now, damn it!" I yelled as I slammed my hands on the wheel. I put the key in one last time and turned. My truck roared to life, "Thank you!"

I put my truck in drive and spun out, slinging rocks everywhere. Five minutes away from the Masen house my truck decided it didn't want to go any further. It made a horrible clanking noise, and stopped completely as I pulled to the side of the road. I opened my door and stepped out holding on to my knife.

"Isn't that a shame?" I jumped and pressed my back to my door. I glanced across the bed of my truck to see someone leaning against the tailgate, "Can you believe that Edward would mess with your truck so that you could fall so perfectly into our trap?"

James.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing next me with his arm around my shoulder. I tried to move away but it was impossible. James jerked a handful of my hair downward, causing my head to snap backward, "You won't go anywhere, Bella, unless I want you to," he stuck his nose to my throat and I began shaking with fear. He ran his nose up and down my throat and I felt his tongue dart out and lick my skin, "Fuck, Bella, do you have any idea how badly I want to just drain your body right now? Just swallow every single drop of your blood? Ah, you're lucky that Aro wants you, if not, you'd be mine." I remained silent through his speech, even though I had a million thoughts and questions running through my head. Who is Aro? Why me? Where is Edward? If this is his "trap" shouldn't he be here? James' stare bored into my eyes, "Why can't you speak to me like you do to Edward?"

"What are you talking about?" I managed to choke out.

"I'll just let Aro explain. I know he told Edward he didn't want you until Wednesday, but I'm going to take you now, teach Edward a lesson in hesitation," James leaned in to press his nose against my throat again, I took a chance and tried to ram my knife through James' chest, it didn't work, the blade bent back towards me against his skin. I gasped as James chuckled, "I love it when they fight back. Makes for a much better bite," James brought his lips to mine and I tried to fight him off, using my hands to push him off, but he was just too strong. He grasped both of my hands in one of his and pinned them painfully above my head, continuing his assault on my lips. I stayed unmoving, clenching my lips tightly shut, "Come on, Bella, open up for me, you did for Edward. He's no different from me," James knew about our kiss, had he been watching some how? I shuddered at James saying Edward was no different from him. Edward never showed any aggression toward me, there was never any forcefulness, even when I saw what he was, he was apologizing and trying to get me to listen to him. I thought back to what he had said in my room, _"If anything happens, I want you to remember me like this, I need you to remember me like this. Bella, I don't ever want to hurt you. I don't want to cause you pain, and I don't want to see you suffering. I know this doesn't make any sense now, but it might soon. That is why I need you to listen to me, I am always on your side, and I need you to trust me, no matter what happens." _He seemed so honest, he wanted me to trust him, but how could I?

I remained still as James pried my lips apart with his tongue. His tongue swept over mine and he tasted sweet, too sweet, it was sickening. I gagged, "What's the matter, angel?" he used the name that Edward had given me, it sounded completely wrong coming out of his mouth, I realized in that moment that I wanted Edward, I needed him. I couldn't make myself believe that Edward was the one who messed with my truck; if it had been him wouldn't he be here instead of James? I kept thinking of Edward, the green-eyed one, remembering him the way he told me to, hoping that he would appear. I said nothing to James, "You don't like the taste of my venom? You couldn't get enough of Edward's, but then I guess his wasn't as freely flowing as mine is now. I'm really surprised he held off from biting you for so long, I can't resist any longer," I closed my eyes tightly as James moved to my neck once again. He rolled his tongue over my throat causing a burning sensation to ripple across my skin.

"James! No!" I heard a growl come from behind me. I opened my eyes to see Edward standing on the opposite side of my truck.

"Edward!" I cried, just as James plunged his teeth into my neck. I screamed as I felt the burning and ripping of my flesh. Fire charged through my neck and consumed me. I heard Edward yelling, and then I felt like I was flying. Everything became blurry as the inferno devoured me; this was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt. Every atom of my body felt alight with flames. I could feel everything, I was being carried, and the fingers digging into my flesh were hot iron spikes. The wind felt like barbed whips lashing against my exposed skin. I wanted it over, I wanted to die. I tried to scream this, to tell whoever was carrying me to put me down and put me out of this misery, but when I tried to speak it felt like I had swallowed acid. My tears burned as they carved rivers of fire down my face.

I couldn't move. There were straps across my wrists, ankles, and neck rendering me immobile. The fire had receded greatly, mostly located in my chest. My heart was beating frantically trying to fend off the unwelcome flames lapping at it.

"She's so close," I heard an eager voice say beside me, "and after only a day and a half, she is truly remarkable. Thank you for speeding up the process for me," What process? My heartbeats stuttered as the fire won out, causing my breaths came out in frenzied huffs. The fire ceased as my heart pumped for the last time. It was over. I was at peace.

"Isabella," a soft, but unfamiliar voice called from my side. I slowly opened my eyes to a blindingly white light, my eyes adjusted and I could see beyond the light, I saw the individual grains in the ceiling tiles, he dust in the air and the filaments of the light bulbs. It was kind of beautiful, if this was Heaven, I could get used to it. Heaven, I thought, my mom! She would surely be here. I was overcome with joy at the thought of our reunion.

"Can you help me find my mom?" I asked, remembering the voice that had spoken earlier. I hoped that they could help me find her.

"Your mother is dead, Isabella," I voice said. I turned my head to question it when I saw him. He had black hair neatly combed against his head, his skin was pale, and I gasped as I looked into his eyes, they were red.

Red eyes didn't belong in Heaven.

My life had ended, I had taken my last breath, and my heart thumped for the last time, I was dead. I thought of the people I had left, the ones that I loved that would live their lives without me, Charlie, Alice, Jacob, it hurt to think about them. If this wasn't Heaven, then this was Hell. Why did Hell have bright, white lights, I thought that was reserved for the good. I thought that I was good, what had I messed up on so badly in my life that I deserved this? I tried to move, to break free of the restraints that were holding me down, but it was impossible. Hopelessness crushed me when realization hit that I would be here forever.

I felt the hands of the demon beside me ghost over my face and neck, "Isabella, my treasure," he said as he moved his lips over mine, "You are magnificent, my love," he kissed me lightly along my neck before returning once more to my lips. I didn't want this, but I couldn't move. He brushed his hand along my face, sweeping some hair away from my face, "I have much to teach you, my dear. Would you like to be free of these straps?"

"Why am I in Hell?" I asked quietly, "What did I do to deserve this?" The man moved to each of the straps and released me. I stood up shakily, and looked down to see that I was wearing black leather pumps and had on a tight black dress, I guess you get new clothes in Hell. I took in my surroundings; everything was white, immaculately clean and white. White wasn't a Hell color, I was so confused. There were millions of things running through my mind and I found that I could focus on each of them. I noticed that on the counter, a small refrigerator sat five and three-fourths inches away from the edge, the over head lights were spaced an equal foot and a half apart. The man stood in front of me and I could differentiate ten different shades of red in his eyes. He reached out to grab my hand and before I recognized what I was doing, I shoved him against the wall, cracking it. I twisted his arm around and pinned it behind him, "Extraordinary," he whispered. I let go of him and stepped away, trying to rationalize what was going on. I could hear so much, people talking, moving about, birds chirping, I could hear the man's breath from across the room.

"What's going on?" I shouted. I was scared. Why did Hell feel so much like life? Where were the flames and red men with pitchforks?

The man crossed the room to me, "Isabella, you are not in Hell, you are still on Earth. My name is

Aro Volturi," _Aro? _Where had I heard that name before? And how could I still be on Earth? I was _dead._

"I'm dead," I stressed.

"Well, yes, you are technically, but I've given you a new life. You're an immortal now, a vampire," A vampire! My mind raced, James! He was the one who spoke of Aro; my memories began to come back to me. I was going to see Alice when my truck stopped, James was there, and he bit me just as Edward came up.

"Where's Edward?" I needed to see him.

"Edward is no longer your concern," Aro said coldly, "You belong to me now," What? How could I belong to him? I wasn't property, anger swelled in me. It seemed like every emotion I experienced was magnified ten times compared to my human emotions. I wanted Aro dead just for saying those words. I surprised and scared myself when a growl came out of my mouth, "I want to see Edward!" I yelled.

Aro came at me and pinned me to the wall, clamping his hand over my mouth, "I will personally murder Edward if you continue to call for him. He is none of your concern anymore, you fucking belong to me," he repeated. I could taste sweet venom pooling in my mouth, I swallowed it down, and my throat began to burn.

"Why does my throat hurt?" I coughed.

"You need blood," Aro said, "Come with me, I've got just what you're craving," I followed Aro out of the room and up some stairs. I contemplated the fact that I would now have to drink blood; I didn't want to kill anyone. The idea repulsed me, that was, until I smelled it. We were walking down a hallway when the scent entered my nose, I froze, "It smells delicious, doesn't it?"

"That's blood?" I questioned. I never thought that anything could smell as delectable as the scent of the blood that was inhaling now. We came around a corner and were met with two double doors. I could hear the heartbeat from someone just inside the door, the one the blood would belong to. I wanted it so bad; I nearly ripped the door off of the hinges to get inside. Aro gripped both of my arms and brought them behind my back securely. I didn't understand why he felt the need to hold me back, I would get that blood one way or another, my body needed it. My throat burned for it.

"Open," Aro called and the double doors swung open. Aro spun me around so that my back was to the human, he walked me backwards into the room, I could barely contain myself as I got a more concentrated hit of the aroma, "Isabella, you have two choices, join my organization, and become solely mine, or I can have the man's throat behind me slit, making his blood irresistible to you, and killing him. The choice is yours," Aro spun me back around to face the human.

I looked into the face of my father.

**Dun, dun, dun! Only one more chapter! Thank you so much for reading, as always let me know what you think! You guys are awesome!**


	11. Chapter 11

_Go unnoticedLet the freedom wash awayLosing focusThe pretense is second natureIt's a broken life that I cling toTrying to make rightI feel dismay just like you doI feel decayedSo find me a way to leave this wasted lifeBehind me (this wasted life)Find me a way to leave this wasted lifeBehind me after all_

_Waste- _Seether

**BPOV**

"Daddy?" I said backing away from him, the scent of his blood was too much. He didn't flinch, could he even tell I was here? I was trying very hard to focus on anything else but the scent of my father's hot, blood pulsing through his veins, protected by only a thin layer of skin.

"_Stop, Bella," _I heard Edward say. I turned around to find him, but he wasn't in the room.

"So," Aro clapped, "What's your decision? Will you be mine or will you be forced to kill your father?"

"_Bella, I'm here. Listen to me, you can hear the thoughts that I want you to hear, as I can hear the thoughts you want me to hear. Aro does not know this and we must keep it between us. Join Aro, okay? I will find a way out of this"_

"I'll join you," I said quietly.

"Excellent, my dear!" Aro smiled, "Let him in!" I turned to the double doors as they opened, two men walked forward holding chains around their hands, I followed the length of the chain as they walked through the door. I gasped when I saw what was at the end.

With chains wrapped around his neck, hands and feet, Edward fought his way into the room, "Why are you doing this to him!" I turned to Aro, infuriated. _"Bella, I'm okay, please, quit worrying about me, its only going to provoke Aro," _I couldn't just not worry about Edward.

"Edward," he spat, "needs to learn where his allegiance lies. Release him," he said to Edward. I was expecting the men to let Edward go, instead I heard my father.

"Bells, what's going on? Where are we? Why are your eyes red?" his words were sluggish and slurred. What had they done to him?

"_I'm going to try my hardest to get him out of here, Bella."_ How did this thought sharing thing work? Did I just think that I wanted Edward to know what I was thinking?

"_Yes, Bella," _he answered.

"Mr. Swan, would you please come over here?" Aro politely asked my father. I tensed up as he stepped closer to me, the scent was too powerful.

"_Edward, what do I do? I can't kill him, please help me," _I cried.

"Bells, what's wrong?" my father stepped in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"_Bella, just stop breathing, and stay very still. I'm so sorry, angel."_

"Mr. Swan," Aro said, commanding his attention, "Edward sent the women to kill your wife and will now kill your daughter, say goodbye."

"_Bella, I did not! I had nothing to do with your mother's murder, please believe me."_

"_I believe you," _I honestly did believe him.

"What?" he turned to Edward with anger in his eyes. Aro stepped behind my father, sandwiching him between us. The scent took over, _"Edward, help," _I cried internally. I couldn't control myself, my mouth opened as I moved in closer to my father's neck. _"Don't you fucking do it, Bella!" _Edward yelled angrily, the harshness of his words caught me off guard, then I realized he only said them to distract me. _"Thank you, Edward."_

I backed away from my father, "I love you, Daddy, but you need to go. I won't see you anymore."

"Isabella, you can't leave me, I have nothing without you. What is going on, baby girl? Why are you here? Why did Edward kill Renee?"

"I don't know, Daddy, but I'm too different now, I can hurt you, please just go," it hurt so much to tell him goodbye, I wanted to cry, I should have been crying, but my eyes were dry. I could cry no more.

"What am I going to do without you? Bells, I can't lose you, your mother is gone. You're the only thing I have left."

"Which is exactly why you're no longer needed," Aro whispered.

"What?" my father spun around to face Aro as he extended his teeth out and bit into my father's neck.

"DADDY!" I yelled as I ran to his limp, bleeding body lying on the floor. Venom surged in my mouth and my throat ignited with need for the red liquid pouring from my father's neck. I felt the heat leave his body as he died. This shouldn't have happened; there was no need for his death.

Aro would perish for this.

With all thoughts and feelings of thirst abandoned, I stood with rage and hate quaking through me. I let out a guttural, menacing growl as I charged at Aro; I gripped his throat as tightly as I could as I sent our bodies flying into the wall behind us. The entire room trembled as I cracked the bricks around Aro's body; pictures fell off the wall and shattered on the ground. _"Bella, stop, he will kill you," _I heard Edward's small voice echo in my head. I didn't care if I died again, but I was sure as hell taking Aro down with me. My fingernails made a screeching noise as they tore into the tough flesh of Aro's neck. He looked up at me with a smile, "You aren't going to kill me, angel," I snarled once more as I dug my fingers deeper into the gashes they had created.

"We'll see about that," I snapped.

I felt something hard against my back and was suddenly thrown backwards across the room. I landed on the floor, cracking the tiles. I stood up instantly and was charging Aro again as I felt arms wrap around my torso, I fought and struggled against my captor, there was no way I was going down without a fight. I felt a hand slip under my jaw and pull my head back painfully. I heard a crack as searing pain radiated throughout my neck. I screamed as I felt my captor slowly widen the tear in my neck.

"No, no, my boy, we mustn't kill her now. She's too valuable," Aro said calmly as he stepped in front of me. My captor lowered my jaw back down and I felt relief as the crack in my neck came back together. I turned to see who captured me, it was James.

"Oh, Bella, you feel so good right up against me," he whispered as he ran his tongue up the shell of ear. Rage shook through me again; James would go down with Aro as well.

"You're a disgusting mother fucker, James. I can't wait to murder you," I growled. I raised my leg and thrust backwards kicking him as hard as I possibly could in the balls. He let go of me immediately and fell to the ground.

"_Holy shit, Bella," _Edward cheered.

Aro grabbed a hand full of my hair and snapped my head back against his shoulder, "Do not hurt anymore of my men, do you understand? You have no more family, no more Edward, you are mine, bitch."

"_Play along, angel. We'll make it."_

"Put him back," Aro waved to the men that held Edward's chains. This time he didn't struggle, he followed behind the men obediently, it made me sick. Still holding on to me by my hair, Aro dragged me through a door and into a bedroom, "This is your room, Isabella. Do with it what you will."

"What about my father?" I asked sternly.

"Oh, he will be taken care of, darling. Don't you worry," he said nonchalantly. I was infuriated. Aro made a quick exit before I could send him flying into another wall. I looked around my room, black bed spread, black sheets, black headboard, black pillows, black carpet, red walls and black curtains, very comforting and homey.

I heard a knock at my door and when I opened it I saw my father standing before me, "Howdy, Bells. How's about I come tuck you in and give you a good night kiss? A girl like you needs a little lovin'" a strange voice said, then started laughing. My father's body fell to the floor as James doubled over in laughter behind him, "You should have seen your face, Bella!"

Words can not even describe how livid and enraged I became. I launched myself at James, and slammed him into the floor. I wasn't going to give him a chance to escape, not this time. With one high heel pierced through his chest and the other through his neck, I grabbed his jaw as he did earlier to mine and ripped his head from his body. There was a huge fireplace roaring with flames in the opposite corner of the large room, I ran over to it and dropped the son-of-a-bitch's head straight into the flames, I laughed as he turned to ashes. I had no idea where Aro went to, but he never came in during my little murder, I was kind of disappointed, with James gone who would run to his rescue? It would be too easy.

I walked over to my father's body and crouched down beside him. I gently lifted his head into my lap and ran my hand over his salt and pepper hair, "I'm so sorry, Daddy. This should have never happened. James turned me into a vampire, but I killed him so I guess we're even. Edward's a vampire too, Daddy, but a nice one. He's trying to get us out of this place," I ran my fingers over the bite marks on his neck. I licked my finger and wiped away the dried blood that had settled on his skin, "How's Mom? I'm glad you both have each other again; I know you're watching over me now. Do vampires go to Heaven? I mean we're immortal, but we can be destroyed, I don't know. Maybe you can ask God that for me and send his answer to me some how. Tell Mom I miss her everyday and that I love her. I can't believe this happened, Daddy, and just when we were going to get our lives back together. We had a rough time but I always knew that we would pull through. Looks like we'll never get that chance. I love you so much, Daddy, I'm so sorry," my voice was barely a whisper, my eyes stung with tears that could never be shed. We didn't deserve this. I placed a light kiss on my father's head. I picked him up easily in my arms and brought him over to the fire place. There was a shovel for the fireplace and I quickly scooped out the remains of James, I was not going to allow my father to be in the same space as James.

I laid my father's body down over the flames and said a prayer for him. I knew without a doubt that my father was in Heaven with my mother. I missed them both terribly, but I was happy they had each other once again.

"_Bella, can you hear me?" _Edward's urgent voice asked.

"_Yes, what's wrong?"_

"_What have you done?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You killed James!" _he sounded so distraught; I thought he would be happy.

"_Yes," _I said curtly. Why should it matter to him? I did everyone a favor.

"_Shit, Bella, why? Aro is on a rampage now, we're starting the war early." _

"_What war?"_

"_A war with an opposing coven, Bella. Aro was depending on all of us, James even more so to help us win. Why would you kill him? I know he's vile, but-"_

"_Edward, do not make excuses for that piece of shit! You want to know why I killed him? He was using my father like a puppet, saying sick things to me. I couldn't handle it. I ended him."_

"_Bella, I really am sorry, but you can't be so rash anymore. You need to think things through; I know as a newborn it's tough. One emotion can take over and fill you up completely, plus the thirst. It's nearly impossible to create a coherent thought, but you must try," _My throat burned at the mention of thirst, I had been doing so well not thinking about it, _"Shit, Bella! Aro's coming your way. Act completely apologetic and say that your newborn instincts took over, and just do whatever he says, okay? It's going to keep you safe."_

"_Okay," _I responded sheepishly.

"_And, Bella?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I love you." _Edward loved me? After only a week, he had fallen in love with me, how was that possible? I didn't know what to say back to him, and I didn't have long to think about it as Aro burst through the double doors and flew right next to my face.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? YOU BITCH!" He slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. I stood my ground, teeth clenched and fists balled up.

"He was a cretin; the world's a better place without that mother fucker in it. I'M FUCKING GLAD I MURDERED HIM!" I yelled back just as loudly. _"Bella, THINK!" _Edward yelled in my head.

"You better be glad that I need you today, otherwise it'd be you dead, not James. I have quite the surprise for you and Edward." he grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me out of the great room. I was led down several flights of stairs and we eventually ended up in a basement-garage type room.

Aro kept me next to him as he addressed a group of eight cloaked vampire men. I scanned the group looking for Edward but he was no where in sight.

"_Edward, where are you?"_

"_I'm being held in a room alone until it is time to leave, Aro doesn't trust me."_

"_Why doesn't Aro trust you, and why are you in chains?"_

"_James was a spy for Aro; he kept a watch on me to see where I was and if I was handling my mission correctly. I thought it was the other way around. Apparently James was Aro's right hand man, his beta, if you want to call it that. James saw that I had developed feelings for you and told Aro, he kept an even closer watch on me then. And after I found my parents, he-"_

"_Wait, you found your parents?"_

"_The Masens are actually the Cullen's, Bella. Carlisle and Esme are my birth mother and father."_

I was shocked, _"So, if you're a newborn how are you so well controlled and why haven't they put out a missing child report? No one was even trying to find you."_

"_Bella, I'm not a missing child nor am I a newborn, I'm one hundred and eight years old. I lost contact with my parents in 1918."_

I couldn't believe this, how were they still alive? Unless- realization hit me, _"They're vampires?"_

"_Yes, Bella."_

"_Alice and Jasper and Emmett and Rosalie?"_

"_Yes, Bella. They all are, listen, I'll explain this all to you later. I'm in chains because I saw James bite you, I ran after you hoping that I could save you. I was ambushed and captured by Aro and one of the other vampires. He didn't want me to find you and explain everything that I just explained to you. He wanted to turn you against me." _

"Isabella, do you understand?" Aro turned to me. I heard not one word of what he had been saying, I was so lost in the conversation that Edward and I were having. I simply nodded, "For the Volturi!" Aro exclaimed as he raised his hand in the air. The group cheered as Aro led them outside.

"_Okay, I'm out, Bella. I will be fighting with you. Listen to what Aro says, angel." _

Aro handed me a cloak as I exited, I slid it on over my dress and walked out into the night. My vampire night vision surprised me. My eyes adjusted to the darkness in one second and it was as if it were still daylight outside.

With Aro at the head of the group, we ran into the forest. Running was as easy as breathing, my body knew when to jump, how to avoid limbs, and maneuver gracefully through the dense trees.

"_This is awesome!"_

"_I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, but you need to focus, Bella. The war will begin soon and I don't know what we're up against." _

We ran for almost fifteen minutes before Aro made a sharp turn to the right. I found myself along a familiar road. Too familiar, my heart dropped when I saw my truck still parked on the side of the road. We ran up the road for another minute and Aro led us down a driveway. I knew what was at the end of the it, I dreaded it.

"_Edward, why are we here? What does Aro want with the Mase-Cullens?"_

"_He told me that an enemy coven wanted something he had, something he wasn't willing to give up. That's you and I, Bella."_

The Masen/Cullen house came into view, and I took in the six figures standing in the front yard. Carlisle stood at the head of a triangle with Emmett and Jasper flanking him on either side. Esme stood directly behind Carlisle and Alice and Rosalie each stood behind their men.

"Bella," Alice said sadly from across the field.

"Take out the future seer first," Aro commanded.

"_Future seer?"_

"_Alice," _Edward answered.

I growled at Aro's side, "That's right, my Bella, feel the rage against the Cullen's take over. They want your Edward," Aro was completely mistaken if he thought the rage was against the Cullen's.

Carlisle spoke, "We don't want to fight, Aro. We only want our son and Isabella."

"Do you have any idea of the power you would possess with these children? Edward alone is worth killing your entire family, and Bella, she's more extraordinary than anyone here, well aside from me," I'm extraordinary? What did he know that I didn't?

"_Bella, you can block out the gifts of other vampires. This is a great power; Aro is the only other known vampire to possess it. He also believes that you can project your thoughts into the minds of others, but it's not true, you can only project into my mind, as I can with you."_

"Once I have eradicated your family, Edward and Isabella will have no other choice than the Volturi,"

"Aro, it isn't about the power they each possess. It is about what's right. You _stole_ our son from us, now that we have him back; we are not willing to let him go. It's about love, not power," Carlisle spoke strongly.

"I knew that James should have just finished you both off when he had the chance so many years ago, looks like I'll just have to do it myself," Aro waved his hand and the group began to stalk forward. Aro grabbed hold of my hair once more and pulled me forward, "You belong to me! Now fight!"

Everything was a blur as dark cloaks flew around me, I wanted it all to stop, the Cullen's didn't need to die, I could stay with Aro and let Edward live with his family, he deserved it. I had my time with a family, Edward needed his time now.

I remained still as the battle rage around me, I heard cracking and popping as dismembered body parts flew past my head. I looked around and noticed many cloaks stamped into the ground with piles of parts on top of them, I had no idea which parts belonged to which body.

"_Bella, help me!" _I snapped my head to the left to find that one cloaked vampire had Edward's head tightly locked into his arms. Edward was no longer wearing a cloak. I ran behind his attacker and bit a chunk of flesh from his neck before tearing his head away from the body.

"_We're doing okay."_

"_Who is Aro or the Cullen's?"_

"_When I say we, I mean the Cullen's."_

I scanned the scene quickly and found that every Cullen was still fully intact, how they were winning was beyond me.

"Bella!" I heard Edward's voice yell out loud, it was the first time he'd actually spoken to me in awhile. I turned to find him and screamed when I saw that Aro had his jaw pulled back and his neck tearing.

"NO!" I screamed as I charged at Aro. Before I could get to him, he was knocked to the ground. Alice had him pinned to the ground; she screamed and then went limp. He climbed from under her, and made his way back to Edward.

"_He's using my power on her. Block out his power, Bella, it's the only way to stop him," _Edward weakly said.

"_How do I do that?"_

"_Let your hatred for him flow, believe that he can't touch you." _I focused on everything that Aro had caused, the Cullen's transformation to vampires, my transformation, and my father's death. It was too easy to hate him, _"You're doing good, Bella. Now just extend that power to Alice, know that nothing can touch her."_

I let my protection extend over Alice; she opened her eyes and fixated them on Aro before tackling hi once again. This time I held my protection over her as I walked forward and crouched over Aro. Alice handed me a small lighter. With Alice's help, we tore off Aro's arms and legs. We left his head on so that he would still be alive as he burned.

"I _never _belonged to you, burn in Hell fucker," I dropped the lighter on him and watched as his body became engulfed with flames.

I was free.

Edward was free.

I turned to him and slammed my lips to his, kissing him with every bit of passion I had. He had been with me through this all. He didn't want to be a monster; he proved that by not killing me a week ago. It was ridiculous for me to even question Edward's love for me; the spark we felt when we were together should have clued me in on that. We were meant to be together.

"_I love you, too, Edward." _

**So, what did you think? I will have the epilogue out shortly, and it will tie up any loose ends. I want to thank all of you who stuck with me through this and reviewed, favorited and put this on story alert. I never expected to get such a response! Thank you so much! I've already got another story in the works, so if you would like to continue reading stories from me, put me on author alert so you won't miss any updates. You are all so completely amazing! Thank you for taking time out of your day to read what I have to share, it means the world to me!**


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